Another Past
by Ayra Sei Ethari
Summary: Kya Ranor, second Padawan of Obi-Wan Kenobi, is sent "back in time". She is given three tasks to complete, and one of them is to defeat Sidious. But in the meantime, she also gives away her heart. Will she ever go home . . . or will her heart betray her?
1. Summary and Trailer

**_Another Past_**

_Summary:_ Kya Ranor, second Padawan of Obi-Wan Kenobi, is sent "back in time". She is told that she has the power to change that world's fate so that it doesn't end up like her own. She is given three tasks to complete, and one of them is to defeat Sidious. But in the meantime, she also gives away her heart. Her ultimate challenge – sacrifice the ones she loves and remove Sidious or save them and allow all of the universes to fall under the domination of the ones who came before the Jedi and the Sith. Will she ever go home . . . or will her heart betray her?

_Rating:_ T due to the complexity of the storyline and some of the more suggestive parts of the story

_Genre:_ angst (emotional & a little physical) ; romance ; hurt/comfort ; friendship ; mystery

_Canon Character(s):_ Master Obi-Wan Kenobi (38); Master Qui-Gon Jinn ; Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi (25) ; Anakin Skywalker (9) ; Darth Sidious/Chancellor Palpatine ; Queen Padmé Amidala (14)

_OC Character(s):_ Padawan Kya Ranor (16) ; Lord Drakale ; Lady Elizabeth

_Set During:_ TPM & RotS

_Note:_ This fic will get a little confusing as time goes by, so my suggestion is to make sure you read everything if you want to keep up with what is going on.

* * *

**_Trailer_**

A big black screen with the words – _Parallel universes exist everywhere, bound by the Force and with identical destinies and faces._

A split screen.

One half shows – Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi fighting the droids in the Trade Federation Battle Control Ship. Master Jinn then begins to cut a hole in the blast doors and Padawan Kenobi defends him.

Words – _One universe . . . _

The other half shows – Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker, Chancellor Palpatine, and astromech R2-D2 fight to land the flagship _Invisible Hand_ as an air battle between the Republic and the Separatists rages around them. Fire ships surround them as everyone waits and holds their breath.

Words – _And another._

The split screen fades. Words slowly appear – _Sister and brother universes, right beside each other, yet following different events. Never to touch or mingle, simply to exist._

_But that will change._

A brilliant explosion fills the scene, and a young Jedi Padawan appears, wielding a lightsaber of midnight blue. She has sapphire eyes and long dark brown hair coiled in an elaborate pattern. A single Padawan braid coils down her right shoulder.

Words – _Jedi Padawan Kya Ranor is a powerful Jedi whose midi-chlorian count rivals even Anakin Skywalker himself. Her destiny is unknown to all. It will be her fate to forever twine the destinies of two parallel universes together. . . _

The Jedi Padawan fades off the screen.

**Flash.**

"Who are you?" Kya demands, her eyes looking at the Jedi Master in front of her. "You cannot be him! He was killed thirteen years ago!"

**Flash.**

"What happens if you fail, Padawan?"

Kya's eyes narrow, and her hand clenches her lightsaber. "I will join the Force," she says flatly.

**Flash.**

Anakin rises in the air, choking as a cloaked figure stands before him, his hand clenched in a fist.

"What . . . are . . . you . . . doing . . . Obi-Wan?" Anakin chokes out, clutching desperately at his throat.

**Flash.**

"Siri, no!" Kya screams, dashing forward. A brilliant flash of light follows, and Kya falls to her knees. "No!" she manages. "No . . ."

**Flash.**

"What do mean, they might die?" Mace Windu's voice is sharp. His lightsaber is held in his hand, but it is deactivated. The building around him is a mess, a backdrop of broken and smoking columns. Arrayed around him are other members of the Jedi Council, with a variety of expressions on their face, from disbelief and anger to fear and concern.

"Assimilation," answers Kya tonelessly. Tears are making their way down her face. "They don't belong there. If they stay too long . . . they will cease to exist."

"Cease to exist?"

"They'll die. And nothing will ever bring them back."

The scene fades away, and voices issue.

(Darth Sidious/Palpatine) – Join the dark side of the Force, Jedi.

(Kya Ranor) – Never!

(Sidious/Palpatine) – The Jedi Order forbids attachment. How will you tell your Master that you have given your heart away?

(a pause)

(Sidious/Palpatine) – Only I have the power to save him from assimilation. Who means more to you, Jedi – your Master or your lover?

Words – _Kya Ranor faces the same choice as Anakin Skywalker. But will she fall as well, or will her love instead hold her in the light?_

_

* * *

_

**A/N:** I have quite a few reviews accusing Kya Ranor of being a Mary Sue, so let me get the record set before you begin reading. For one thing, Kya Ranor is _not_ a Mary Sue. I just portray her as I would portray the growth in my relationship with a friend – first, they seem like a perfect alien, and then as you get to know them, you start to see the flaws, the cracks, the little details. Therefore, for the first few chapters, Kya does _seem_ like a Mary Sue because we don't know her. But as the story progresses, I show you more of her flaws and the things that plague and weaken her. Her greatest strengths are her greatest weakness, actually.

So before you judge and review, I ask that you read a little further into the story. If you've read a few chapters and _then_ tell me I have a Mary Sue, I can accept your opinion. But if you've only read, say, the Prologue and this and you tell me, I'm sorry, but I will not be able to accept that. This is not a reflection on you or an insult or anything; it is simply how I portray my OCs. So, please, read before you judge. And thank you.


	2. Prologue

1-26-2009 = Yes, I know, I had a different prologue earlier. But I have decided that for the prologue, interlude, and epilogue, I will not put a normal chapter with shifting POVs, but instead put excerpts from Kya Ranor's POV. They will basically describe her view of the SW movies, because I don't want to have to put in chapters for every movie - that would make my story over two hundred chapters long. So . . . here it is!

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_**Prologue**_

[Excerpts from the journal of Jedi Padawan Kya Ranor]

_**26 BBY**_

**Entry I:**

Today I finally learned why I sensed such an imbalance. It was exactly six years ago that the Battle of Naboo was concluded . . . exactly six years ago that the great Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was killed at the hands on some dark warrior. My teachers assure us that the warrior was nothing to be scared about, but I'm scared of it.

Because something inside of me knows that that warrior wasn't just your everyday renegade Jedi. Something inside me knows that he must have been lethal, to fell one of our greatest Masters. It doesn't help that we were all taught that Jedi Kenobi was able to call on the light side of the Force and destroy him. I know, deep down, what that warrior was – it was a Sith.

Maybe I should start from the beginning. My teachers tell me that once, when I was young, only two years of age, we were learning meditation. I managed to pick up the technique the fastest, and was far away, immersed in the Force, when I suddenly felt great pain and the shifting of something, as though the Force was tipping like a balance scale.

I screamed.

I screamed and screamed until Master Yoda himself had to come to pull me out of my trance. And I fought him, fought him hard. It caused me pain to continue staying in the trance, because I was now feeling rage and anger and anguish, but it was instinct for me to fight. I couldn't flee, so I fought.

Eventually, it took three of the top ranking members of the Jedi High Council to pull me out. By then, I was exhausted and confused. The incident was hushed up, and from then on there wasn't a day when I did not sense a Jedi Knight or Master keeping watch over me.

That incident took place exactly six years ago, and now I know what I felt. I felt the death of Master Jinn, and for some reason his death caused the Force to tip dangerously toward the dark side. Of course, I could not tell the Council or the healers this; I didn't know then, I was too young to know.

I was never told why I felt such pain, although I am certain that Master Yoda and the Council know what I sensed.

Oh, Sithspit! I'm late!

**Entry II:**

I'm tired, and I'm sweating, but I am content. I just got a really good workout with Master Cin Drallig, one of the Temple's lightsaber instructors.

I am very athletic, and have already left my agemates behind in lightsaber class. I am learning now the basics of Ataru, the form practiced by Master Yoda. Most of my agemates are still learning Shii-Cho.

Sometimes I almost envy them. Master Drallig is one of most powerful and skilled swordsmen when it comes to lightsabers, and he works me hard. Today was even harder because Master Yoda himself was present, so I had two teachers 'helping' me. But I do not complain too much. The Jedi life is hard, and to face it we must undergo lots of training. I am willing to do this if it means that one day I might sit on the Jedi High Council beside Master Windu and Master Yoda, the most powerful Jedi in our Order.

But, ah, listen to me. Now I sound like Skywalker, the one many say is the Chosen One. He was discovered on Tatooine, they say, and brought to the Temple and vouched for by Master Jinn.

They also say that he was a slave.

I brush these things off. What does your origin have to do with who you are or become? Master Windu was an orphan that was given to the Jedi before he'd even been tested, and look where he is now.

_"Kya!"_

Ooops, gotta go. I'm late for –

_"Kya!"_

_"Alright, alright, I'm coming!"_

I'm late for History . . . again. Why am I late for everything today?

**Entry III:**

Finally I can have some peace. My classes are all done, thank the Force. History was interesting, though. My instructor had promised many times to rope Jedi Kenobi in to speak about the Naboo War, and finally she has managed it.

It was interesting, even though I could tell – from the sadness and apprehension echoing in the Force around Jedi Kenobi – that he was unhappy with having to recount the sad events that led to the death of his former Master. So that was why my instructor gave me a very strange look when I did not ask Jedi Kenobi a single question; usually I bombard the visiting Knights and Masters with questions. But I respected Jedi Kenobi's feelings on this matter, and could sympathize, for even though I have never lost a Master and probably never will, seeing as the Sith is dead and there is no sign of the other one, I still remember the heart-shattering pain of the breaking of the training bond. My trance had given me every emotion, every feeling, every sensation, and I know that his Master's death is a wound that Jedi Kenobi will always carry.

_**24 BBY**_

**Entry MMI:**

Two years have passed since I began this journal, and I just counted my entries. I am averaging about 1,000 entries a standard year, because I sometimes do more than one entry per day; it became more like an entry every break. So this is my 2,001st entry.

In my very first entry, I had already mentioned the Naboo War, and how it is connected to me and imprinted on my memory.

And it keeps haunting me.

Today we were given our project assignments for History. We are to research and do a report on a major event in history. Many of my agemates were given assignments dating way, way, way back. One of my best friends, Serah, pulled out the event – oh, what was it? It was when the Jedi Order burned Yavin IV to the ground after destroying Exar Kun.

And I? I happen to pull out the Naboo War.

I'll have to go find Jedi Kenobi and ask him for information, as all but the most basic information on the events of the Naboo War are classified from us younglings.

**Entry MMII:**

Well, I found him. And it was _so_ awkward too! I feel like an idiot now. I can't believe that I just . . .

Well, at least I know more information now. Jedi Kenobi was surprised that I could understand why the Senate didn't act, which forced Queen Amidala to go home. But I understand. I've studied the politics of the Senate extensively, because politics touches everyone in the galaxy, even the Jedi. I don't want to grow up ignorant of the systems and mechanics of the Republic that I am being raised to protect.

On a side note, Jedi Kenobi is very interesting. His Force-signature is different from the average Jedi Knight. I know that every Force-signature is different and each is unique, but the _pattern_ and the _structure_ of that Force-signature is usually the same format for Jedi. Even the wrinkle I feel in the Living Force that is part of the Force-signature for each sentient being usually follows a regular pattern.

But not in Jedi Kenobi. His wrinkle is . . . strange to me. I've only felt it twice before. I have sensed it for many years in Master Yoda, almost from the time I've discovered this ability of mine. The only other person I've ever sensed it in was Master Jinn. In my trance, I sensed the strange pattern as well. But Master Jinn's was much farther along than either Jedi Kenobi's or Master Yoda's.

I'm making no sense. Force-signatures . . . Imagine them as a link of chains of something, like DNA. Our DNA mostly follows the usual structure – double helix and all that. But Master Jinn's . . . it was like half of his double helix was _stronger_, as though our helixes were made of a holographic wafer and his of a Corusca gem. A little, a very little piece, of Jedi Kenobi's signature has that structure, and I can only assume that it's because of his bond with Master Jinn. Master Yoda's is also just a little piece. No other Jedi I have met has that, save one.

Myself.

**Entry MMIII:**

Okay, I lied. Today I met another Jedi who has that very small link. It was a miracle that I managed to recover before he thought I was idiot, just standing there with amazement written all over my face.

Who is the Jedi?

Padawan Anakin Skywalker.

And it brings the strangest feeling to me, as though that small link could hold someone's very _being_ inside, and contain and protect it forever, even when that someone joins the Force. But that . . . that is impossible. Everyone, especially those who was Jedi trained, knows that you cannot retain your individual self once you join the Force.

Acch, my brain hurts from all this thinking. I'm probably dwelling on a puzzle that has existed from the beginning of time, and if it has, than I certainly won't be the one to solve it. I mean, I'm _ten standard years _old. If the Masters of the Jedi Council, who are a collection of the greatest and strongest Jedi of our time, can't solve it and haven't solved it since the beginning of the Jedi Order itself a few hundred years ago, who's to say that I, a ten-year-old Initiate could solve it in a few _hours_?

But now I'm thinking again. I'm going to sleep so that I do not look like an idiot tomorrow when I present.

_**22 BBY**_

**Entry MMMMI:**

I sit here in shock. I can barely speak, for today's events are horrifying and startling beyond belief.

The galaxy is at war.

I can't believe it, even though I myself partook in the opening battle of Geonosis. I was in practice with Master Drallig, trying to master a particularly dangerous and difficult feat of Niman, when his communicator signaled and my Master rushed in.

I recorded some of the conversation earlier, so here it is.

_"Good. Now put it together. Like this." _

_A loud thump, and a sigh._

_"No, Kya, look. You – " _

_A tone beeps from somewhere, and footsteps hurry in._

_"Cin! Kya!"_

_"What's going on, Kyle?" _

_"Master Windu has ordered 200 Jedi to report in. Now."_

_There are hissing noises as two lightsabers are extinguished. _

_"200! What's going on, Master?"_

_"He didn't give us much description, Padawan. But from what I was able to put together when I grilled Adi about this, Jedi Kenobi is being held on Geonosis by the Separatists. He's been condemned to death for espionage." _

_"And let me guess – Dooku ordered this?"_

_A pause._

_"How did you know this, Kya?"_

_A snort. "Who else would have the authority to speak for the Separatists and order the execution of a Jedi, Master? He's only one who would not fear the retaliation of the Jedi, because he _was_ a Jedi."_

_"So we are going on a rescue mission, Kyle?"_

_"Apparently so, Cin. Go and change, Padawan; you don't want to fight Separatists with an already signed tunic. We are to await more instructions once we rendezvous with the other Jedi."_

_"Uh, Master?"_

_"Yes?"_

_"Where's Jedi Kenobi's apprentice? Surely he, of all people, is going to free him?"_

_"No, he's not."_

_"Why not? Jedi Kenobi is his _Master._"_

_"Yes, Padawan, he is, but Padawan Skywalker is currently in hiding with Senator Amidala. We cannot risk her safety. Jedi Kenobi is more than able to protect himself, and he would not want his apprentice to come and endanger not only himself but also Senator Amidala."_

_"If he is 'more than able to protect himself', Master, then why are we mustering 200 Jedi in his defense?"_

_"You trained her too well, Kyle."_

_"_I_ didn't train her in politics. Don't blame me, Cin."_

_"Is she always this cheeky with you? If she is – "_

_"Hey!"_

_"What, Padawan? You _are_ cheeky."_

_"Shut it, Master."_

And that's the end of the recording. My Master, Kyle Katarn, and I talked more about our family histories on the way to Geonosis. Apparently, my Master has a brother called Morgan who, while having a high midi-chlorian count, did not have a high enough one and did not join the Jedi. But the Order is apparently keeping an eye on his family, as Morgan Katarn might one day produce a child who is strong enough to become part of our great Order.

I'm not half as exciting. My parents were killed in a speeder accident on Alderaan before I was born. My mother only lived long enough to give birth to me and name me before she joined the Force with my father. I was found by a Jedi six months later, and I have no memories of my parents. I do know, though, that with my father's death, his line died. I am the last child of the Ranor line, and the first who was Force-sensitive.

In fact, no one of Ranor descent ever even came close to being Force-sensitive. Guess I was the lucky one.

But enough mushy stuff. When we got to the arena, we all were hiding, waiting for Master Windu's signal. I waited for – oh, it seemed so long! – a long while, my heart in my throat as I watched Jedi Kenobi, Padawan Skywalker, and Senator Amidala fight their respective monsters.

And not even the satisfaction of being right about Skywalker coming – despite a direct order from Master Windu – was enough to calm my fear that we might not be able to save the three in time. Something inside me told me, which each fearful contraction of my heart, that all three were vital in the years to come, and that they _had_ to survive this.

When Master Windu finally signaled, I ignited my blade with relief. I – and what seemed that 100 other Jedi – jumped to land in the arena to protect the three of them, because none of them had a weapon.

It brought great relief to me when I saw my Master toss Jedi Kenobi a spare lightsaber, while another Jedi tossed Skywalker one. Senator Amidala snagged a blaster from somewhere, and I must admit, she had great aim.

My Master and I were separated during the melee, and it was sometime later when I looking for him that I saw Jedi Kenobi. He was fighting in Soresu, and no droid that was stupid enough to get close enough lived another second. But while he was now utterly unattractive to the droids, something else – an acklay – decided that it still wanted to eat him.

I barely managed to get his attention in time for him to dodge a strike. But by the time I got to his side, he had already killed it. He'd nodded his thanks, and we had parted ways.

The battle tired me. I was so exhausted that I felt ready to drop when suddenly the droids stopped firing at us. I have never felt so tired, not even after I'd underwent a grueling lesson and duel with Master Windu himself. I had lowered my lightsaber, and sank into a kneeling position. I was startled – and still am – by how few Jedi were left. Only around 20 Jedi still stood, and we had mustered 200 hundred.

That sight will forever be ingrained in my memory. Standing in a small circle surrounded by hundreds of thousands of droids for every one of us. Seeing the ground littered with not only spare parts and blaster bolt burns, but also bodies of my fellow Jedi. All Jedi are connected, intertwined by our shared commitment to the Jedi Order. These Jedi were my brothers and my sisters, my fathers and my mothers. Seeing the red sky that seemed to reflect the blood shed here. But the most painful of all was sensing the Force. The Force felt so wrong. It felt _raw_, as though with every Jedi life destroyed someone scratched it with a blunt whip.

Dooku tried to persuade us to surrender. Those words had made me rise to my feet, and I had backed into the circle again. When I looked around, I found myself between Jedi Kenobi and Master Secura. I had barely registered this when Master Windu countered that we Jedi would fight until we were all dead.

"_Padawan? You are _still_ awake? Get some sleep, for Force's sake!"_

"_Yes, Master."_

I shall continue tomorrow.

**Entry MMMMII:**

Where was I? Oh, yes. Then Senator Amidala yelled, "Look!" and gunships descended into the arena. Master Yoda was there, and all of the remaining Jedi were quick to get on.

I managed to get on the same ship as – guess who? Jedi Kenobi, Padawan Skywalker, and Senator Amidala. And I also managed to fall off the ship with Senator Amidala.

Now _that_ was embarrassing.

But later on, when we arrived at the hangar, it was too late. Dooku had escaped, and Jedi Kenobi and Padawan Skywalker were both injured. They are lucky that Master Yoda was there to save them.

I was reunited with my Master when he and Master Windu arrived with another transport to take us back to Coruscant. After that, he barely let me out of his sight for more than three consecutive minutes.

In fact, it's only recently that I've managed to persuade him to stop popping into my quarters every two minutes. I want some peace.

All of Coruscant is in shock from the events that have transpired. Not even Master Yoda can remember the last real war the Republic underwent. The dark side looms in the Force even more now. I overheard my Master commenting to Jedi Kenobi that he barely remembers what the Force was like before this all started.

I can't either, but seeing as I barely even remember those years at all, I probably will not remember how the Force felt.

I feel sorrow for the next generation of Jedi. At least I passed into my Padawan years in peace, even it was a shaky peace. The next generation . . . War will not be kind to them. After all, I only saw one battle.

And I never want to see another.

_**21 BBY**_

**Entry MMMML:**

My Master, Jedi Master Kyle Katarn, is dead.

**Entry MMMMLI:**

I don't even know why I am doing this . . . but I feel that I need to record the events that led to my Master's death. I see that in one of my previous entries I recorded that I never wanted to see another battle again. Hah! I not only saw plenty more, I was part of them. Many Jedi are now generals in the Army of the Republic, and my Master was no exception.

It was about two months ago that my Master and I were assigned to a mission on Korriban. The mission was a trap, one that was sprung on us as soon as we touched down. We were captured by Dooku himself, and turned over to Jenna Zan Arbor. Oh, Force, I was terrified. I'd heard of what Arbor had done to Master Jinn many years ago, and I was terrified that she was still doing it.

But I wasn't as terrified as my Master. He was scared that Arbor would use me for experimentation. I was young and new to the field, and more likely to break than a Jedi Master. But we were both wrong. Arbor was going to use me, but at the last minute, someone made her change her mind.

That someone was Xanatos Omega. One of the most recent Jedi – excepting Dooku, of course – to turn to the dark side. He was Master Jinn's Padawan before Obi-Wan Kenobi, the one that the Council thought was killed when he jumped into an acid pool.

The experiments they performed . . . I will not go into that. It was terrifying, but what made it worse was having to watch it. To see my Master suffer over and over again until he was a shadow of the man I remembered. To know that if I had but the strength to break my chains and reach the Force, I could have saved him. At least he died quickly.

But when he died, there was nothing holding Arbor back. Now I was the test subject, subjected to extreme heat and biting coldness, to utter exhaustion where I couldn't move and then to not being able to stop moving, to painful hunger and excruciating fullness. Each test was designed to push me to the faint line where death and life blurred, and then to bring me back and start all over again. Arbor was trying to see how far she could push a Jedi without killing them.

_"Padawan Ranor? Jedi Kenobi wants to speak with you."_

Oh, yes, I forget to mention who got me out of that nightmare. It was Obi-Wan Kenobi.

_"Padawan Ranor. Kya. Are you okay?" _

_"Oh, yeah. As fine as anyone can be when they've watched their Master die."_

_Silence, and then the creaking of a bed as someone sits down._

_"Padawan Ranor, you are not the only one to have a lost a Master, and I highly doubt that you will be the last to endure it. But I do not – "_

_"Fine words from a Jedi Knight, Jedi Kenobi. This wisdom – did it help you when you suffered from survivor's guilt when that Sith stabbed Master Jinn while you were trapped behind an energy shield? I am no Knight, and now with no Master I probably will never be."_

_"Padawan . . . how do you know how Qui-Gon Jinn died?"_

_"I knew the second he was killed, Jedi Kenobi. I felt your pain too, and felt your training bond shatter. I thought I would never experience it. Now I have, and no wisdom in the galaxy is going to help me."_

_"Wisdom didn't get me out, Padawan. It was seeing my Master in my apprentice that got me out."_

_"Congratulations. Where along the line did you forget that I'm a Padawan myself?"_

_"I was a Padawan too."_

_"No. You were already ready to take your Trials, practically a Knight in your own right. I'm only thirteen standard years old."_

_"You are _thirteen_? By the Force, when were you apprenticed?"_

_"A year ago."_

_"What was Master Windu thinking, sending a twelve-year-old to Geonosis?"_

_"You forget, Jedi Kenobi, I was trained personally by Master Drallig. And I've sparred with Padawan Skywalker enough times to be able to hold my own."_

_"Uh, you mean Jedi Skywalker."_

_"He's been Knighted? When did this happen?"_

_"About a month ago."_

_"Wonderful."_

_"Padawan Ranor, you never told me . . . Who ordered Zan Arbor to shift her focus from you to your Master? A Padawan is more likely to break than a Jedi Master."_

_"What was the point in telling you? You think he is dead."_

_"Really?"_

_"Last I checked, Jedi Kenobi, you observed the 'death' of Xanatos Omega personally."_

_"_Xanatos_? But – But how could he have survived the acid?"_

_"How am I supposed to know? But he was there – ice blue eyes, black hair, and all. Even the scar of the broken ring he pressed to his cheek after Master Jinn killed his father and sliced through his father's ring."_

_"How do you know so much?"_

_"Because all of this is sitting right in front of me. Your shields are remarkably strong, but you are thinking rather loudly. Please stop. It's giving me a headache."_

_"You are strange."_

_"Now who's talking? I may be strange, but you are stranger. Explain to me why – "_

_"Jedi Kenobi? Padawan Ranor needs her rest. Please, let her have some."_

_"Of course. Good-bye, apprentice."_

Good riddance. Well, I checked Jedi Kenobi again, and he still has that link. But it has shrunk since I last saw it. I wonder if Skywalker's has changed. I doubt it.

**Entry MMMMLV: **

I spent this morning testing out my range of motion under Master Windu's watchful gaze. It's been almost a week since my last entry, and the healers have managed to heal all of my injuries.

Then he asked me if I was ready to talk about what happened on Korriban. I am not ready. I don't think I ever will be. The healers are wonderful for healing what is outside. But only I can heal the scar that rests on my heart.

But I must speak, and soon. I have one month before the deadline closes. If I do not have a Master by then, I will resign from the Jedi Order. And if that happens, I must tell the Council about Xanatos.

I am not sure if I should tell them about the uniqueness of the Force-signatures of some people. Maybe I should. I will listen to the Force, and see what –

_"Padawan Ranor? It's Jedi Kenobi."_

Oh, great. What does he want now?

_"Padawan Ranor. You look much better."_

_"Can't say the same for you. What happened? You look like something the wampa dragged in."_

_"Becoming a Jedi Master doesn't make you look pleasant, young one."_

_"Oh. So I suppose it is Master Kenobi now?"_

_"Yes. But I didn't come here to boast. Padawan Ranor, has the Council set a deadline for you?"_

_"Of course. Just as they did when you left the Order and came back after Melida/Daan. I have one month – actually, two weeks now – before I must leave the Order if I do not have a Master."_

_"The deadline is still going, I presume?"_

_"Yes. Why all the questions?"_

_"Just one more, I promise. Now, Padawan Ranor . . . what would you say to becoming my Padawan?"_

_"What? I thought you were glad to get rid of Skywalker."_

_A laugh. "I am. But I can still take another apprentice, and you . . . you are not Anakin."_

_"Then . . . I accept. Thank you, Master Kenobi."_

_"Well done, this is. Approve of this, the Council does."_

_"Master Yoda. You planned this?"_

_"No. But sense it I did. Your Master, he is meant to be, Padawan."_

_"If that is true, then why did you allow me to be apprenticed to Master Katarn?"_

_"Works in complicated ways, the Force does. Approve of that match I did, yet now prompted I am to approve as well _this_ match."_

_"Well, then, Padawan, I'll leave you to rest."_

_"Bye, Master."_

This is going to be an interesting apprenticeship.

_**19 BBY**_

**Entry:**

I've stopped counting my entries. I have way too many to do that. It's been two years since Master Kenobi took me under his wing. He's been an invaluable teacher, and we are much closer than I ever was to Master Katarn.

On a side note, today I found that Master Katarn's brother and wife have promised that their first son will bear Master Katarn's first name – Kyle – to honor his memory. Morgan Katarn is a staunch supporter of the Jedi and the Republic, so I do not doubt their word. Maybe their son will become a Jedi like his uncle.

Anyway, two months ago I was sent back from the Outer Rim sieges. I had been serving there with my Master and Skywalker. I had been injured, and my Master had decided that it was time for me to go back and rest in the Temple, which none of the three us had set foot in for almost four months.

Today I had been helping Master Drallig to teach some of my fellow apprentices in Soresu. I had been in the middle of duel with Zett Jukassa, a very talented young apprentice, when Master Windu had called me out.

He told me to gather up all capable Padawans and rendezvous at the Senate building, because the Separatists were even know attacking. I ended up protecting Senators Organa, Amidala, and Mon Mothma with Zett.

But it was only after the Separatists withdrew that we learned the true reason behind the attack – they had taken Palpatine. Much as I don't like the man, he is important to the Republic. This much I know. I am not as able to see shatterpoints with the clarity of Master Windu, but I can for really important events. Palpatine is the shatterpoint of the Republic, just as Sidious is the shatterpoint of the Separatists.

And just as Anakin Skywalker is the shatterpoint of the war itself.

I could only wait in fear as I learned that the Temple had sent out calls to every available Jedi, calling them home to Coruscant. We received confirmation when two Jedi beacons activated near Coruscant as clones poured into the system. It was with joy that I learned that the beacons belonged to none other than my Master and Skywalker.

But it was then that we learned that my Master and Skywalker had commandeered Grievous's flagship, and that it was spinning out of control. When I reached for my bond, I only received a quick flicker in response. My Master, whatever he was doing, was busy.

Then the rumors began that they had been killed. I held out, hoping against hope. I knew that if Skywalker was dead, then we – the Jedi – were in big trouble. I would be in trouble too, if my Master was killed, but I pushed all those thoughts aside.

Jedi do not ponder the future. We live it.

And then the news came that they were safe and alive. Even I breathed a sigh of relief at this before letting the Senators loose again. Zett went back to the Temple with the other Jedi, while I stayed back with Master Windu to greet the Chancellor.

I do not like the Chancellor, and so merely inclined my head. Master Windu took care of the formalities. It was the closest I had ever gotten to the Chancellor recently, and when I stretched out with the Force, I found that his Force-signature was weird too. His was _too_ realistic, as though he had laid this one on top of another. All Force-signatures are natural and unique. His was too similar to other non-Force-sensitives.

Here I go again, probably pondering a riddle that has existed since the beginning of time. . .

Anyway, I _really_ do not like the Chancellor. And this is more than my usual dislike of politicians. Usually I define who I like by what roles they play. I like Senator Organa as a politician, for he is a staunch supporter of the Jedi and democracy. I do not know what he is like as a person so I do not judge him there. I like Senator Amidala as a person and a politician. As a person, she is strong-willed and confident, and very mature, and as a politician she is a powerful voice for peace and democracy. Palpatine, I dislike on both levels. He 'reluctantly' accepts more and more power every day from the Senate. Even the Jedi Council is unsure where his authority stops now. With this new amendment for sector governors, Palpatine does not even need to consult the Senate anymore for any bills he wishes to pass.

That is not democracy. That is a dictatorship.

Jedi are sworn to uphold democracy.

But, going back to Palpatine, as a politician he accepts more and more power every day. That is not how a politician of democracy, of the Republic, should act. And as a person, he is . . . oily. Slippery. Smooth with words. Too smooth. He tries to act as a person wanting peace, yet _he_ is the one who has dragged this blasted war on for three years now. To us Padawans, he tries to be patronizing. It is one thing for my Master or the Council to be patronizing. I understand their concern; they are my family. And they rarely do it, for you cannot patronize a Jedi on a solo mission, which is the ultimate test for us.

But for a politician? It's downright unnatural and unnerving. Whenever I go with my Master and the Council Masters to meet with Palpatine, I always stick closely to my Master. I can trust him and the Jedi to protect me against Palpatine and the Separatists. I would never trust Palpatine to protect me – or the Jedi – against the Separatists.

My Master thinks that I am too mature for my age at the moment, to think of these things. War has stripped away my youth, he says, the youth he was able to experience. He was never concerned with what bills were going through the Senate at my age. But all Jedi do not live a regular youth, I argue. Our rigorous training and connection to the Force makes us . . . different from the average kid down the block.

But when I saw my Master, I think I acted more like a child than a Padawan who has not lived a regular youth. I couldn't stop myself from running to him and throwing my arms around him. All thoughts of the Chancellor were pushed aside as I threw myself in my Master's waiting arms. He bore it patiently as Master Windu raised an eyebrow at us, amused at my unusual display of emotion. But I did not mind. It was such a comfort to hear my Master's voice again, to feel his hand on my shoulder, to sense his presence so close to me.

And few things make Master Windu amused anymore. He _needs_ some amusement in this blasted war. If I am it, so be it.

But then the mood turned grim as Master Windu began to talk about the pending investigation on the Sith. He said that Sidious had been traced to the inner circle of Palpatine. I was astonished, as was my Master, but I was also surprised that I was being trusted with this information. Master Windu said that only one other – Master Yoda – besides us and him knew this. Not even the Council had been informed of this.

I did not contribute to the discussion until Master Windu began talking about suspects. When my Master asked about Palpatine and Master Windu waved it aside, I had to speak.

I told them that I did not like Palatine, and also told them about the strangeness of Palpatine's Force-signature. My Master trusts my instincts on these things. Once on a mission in the Outer Rim, we had been approached by someone who claimed to be our contact. Her Force-signature was strange, and I had told my Master this. Skywalker had waved it aside. And then our 'contact' had turned out to be Asajj Ventress herself and we had narrowly escaped being captured. After that, my Master always hesitated if I mentioned that something was off about someone. Usually I was right, but not always.

Master Windu countered that Palpatine practically controlled the galaxy already, so he could not be Sidious. I retorted that with the Jedi Council still was above the Chancellor. After all, Clone Intelligence reports to the Jedi, not the Chancellor. The Order, meager as it is, is still a threat to the Sith.

My Master had agreed, and Master Windu backed off respectively. Palpatine is now one of our suspects again.

I only have one question – how could we miss this? I understand that the Force is clouded now, but still . . . how could the whole Jedi Order and the Jedi High Council – which consists of some of the greatest Jedi in the whole Order – not sense Sidious if he was so close to the Chancellor? While we were trying to keep the peace before the Battle of Geonosis, I know that some of the senior Masters of the Council met Chancellor Palpatine almost every single day as they tried to defeat the Military Creation Act, and thus were exposed to everyone on his staff.

How could we have missed this?

[end of journal entries for Kya Ranor]


	3. Chapter 1

**_Chapter One_**

**19 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I brushed my Padawan braid impatiently out of my eyes. I was breathing hard and I could feel sweat forming. I breathed in deeply, reaching out with the Force to calm my anxiety. I had been practicing when my Master had called me to report to our quarters, and hadn't had time to cool off.

_Relax, Padawan_, came my Master's soothing voice across our bond. My Master, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, was renowned for many things – like being _the_ master of Soresu – but not for handling an apprentice. I had been very surprised the day that he had approached me and asked me to be his apprentice. After all, it was well known that he'd often told his first apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, that he'd take no other – not that I blamed him. Anakin was quite the experience.

I snickered slightly at the thought, turning on the shower. Since becoming Obi-Wan's apprentice, I had served on several missions with Jedi Skywalker, and all had been very . . . _interesting_ missions. Skywalker had earned the reputation of the "Hero With No Fear", and certainly lived up to it, often charging into battle without hesitation . . . and leaving the clean-up operation to Obi-Wan and me.

I sensed my Master mentally raise an eyebrow at me. _Reminiscing, Padawan?_ he asked across the bond.

I grinned. _I can't hide anything from you, can I?_ I asked, half-jokingly, dressing in a clean outfit and putting my duty clothes in the laundry. I sensed my Master frowned slightly.

_If you are referring to _that_ particular mission, Padawan – _

The doors slid open, and my Master at once strode in, finishing, "Then I'd best make sure that you are occupied with others to take your mind off such things."

"We have a mission now, don't we?"

"Yes," he replied. "Go and pack. We are going to Utapau."

"And why, may I ask?"

Obi-Wan turned to me with a slight frown, his questioning glance scanning me as I felt his silent inquiry across our bond. "It's not that I don't want to go," I hastened to say. "But rather the fact that I'd like to know whether it's stealth again or not, and who in the world we are facing that they have to send a Council member and not a regular Master-Padawan team."

"Kya," my Master said without preamble, "General Grevious has been discovered on Utapau. You, most obviously, are coming with me."

"Is Ana-uh, Jedi Skywalker coming?"

"No," came the distant reply as Obi-Wan disappeared into his room. "He must remain here, as his duty to the Chancellor."

I frowned. _Jedi don't serve the Chancellor; we serve the _office_ and the _Republic_._ "Duty to the Chancellor?" I repeated softly. "Jedi don't serve the Chancellor directly."

Obi-Wan frowned at me as he reappeared in the doorway. "Padawan, there are some things that are not to be . . . spoken of, especially in the Temple."

Chastised, I lowered my head.

"Anyway," Obi-Wan continued, a smile growing on his face as his amusement reached me through our bond, "do you really want to play back-up, like the last time we went on a stealth mission?"

I grinned, returning the amusement easily. "Like the one where Anakin _and_ you fell into that disgusting mud pit of a trap with half your troops, and I had a terrible time of convincing the clones that you were in danger and that we had to go after you?"

My Master cleared his throat pointedly, and I left to pack, shaking my head in amusement.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I glanced at my apprentice. Kya had been silent for a long time after we had boarded the command ship. I sighed silently. _She's growing up so fast._ It seemed like only yesterday that I'd taken her on, yet two years had already passed.

Kya was only almost sixteen, yet she was acknowledged as a senior Padawan in advanced classes for both lightsaber combat and Force use. She was more like me than Anakin had ever been, although she did have her moments. She was very strong in the Force, and her mastery of lightsaber combat even stronger. I remembered the first time he'd met her, when she had asked for my help in the Archives. She had been researching the Naboo War, I recalled.

_ "Jedi Kenobi, can you help me please?"_

_ I looked up from my terminal to see Jocasta Nu. "Of course, Master Nu," I said, standing. She gestured to the slender girl beside her._

_ "This is Initiate Ranor. She's doing a research project on the Naboo War, and I think your firsthand experience will help her."_

_ I swallowed tightly. I'd always tried to avoid the subject of the Naboo War; remembering how my Master had died was always painful. Yet I'd already said yes._

_ "Jedi Kenobi?" came the timid voice. He looked up to see the girl standing before him, alone now, concern in her eyes. "I'm sorry to bother you about the Naboo War. But all information is restricted on my level, and I can't finish my project without it."_

_ I looked into her startlingly deep blue eyes, almost the same shade as Qui-Gon's had been. Her hair was a very dark brown, the same as Qui-Gon's too. She shifted uncomfortably under my examining eye, and made to leave. _

_ "It's all right, Initiate," I said gently._

Kya had proved sensitive, never prodding beyond what I wanted to give, and yet soaking up everything I did. Against my will, I had found myself keeping an eye on the young Initiate.

I noted that she was intelligent and helpful, and worked well with others.

After Anakin had become a Knight, I'd been very reluctant to take a Padawan, fearing my missions to difficult to be dragging along a thirteen-year-old apprentice. But when she became the focus of the mission, I'd opened my heart to her and taken her on.

That mission had been terrifying. Her first Master had been experimented on and killed cruelly, and in front of Kya's eyes as well. Kya had been close to death, insanity, and the dark side when I'd found her. I remembered seeing her thin form covered with bruises. Her Padawan braid had been ripped off, and the wound still had been weeping blood. When she'd recovered at the Temple, she'd tried to starve herself to death, fearing herself tainted for life by her brief brush with the dark side.

That was when I had intervened. I had found myself feeling protective of the Initiate after all. I felt terribly sad when I had first intervened. I remembered thinking of her as one of the war's casualties, even though she wasn't dead. Despite my dark thoughts concerning the war and its effect of even the youngest of our Order, Kya had clung to me as a lifeline, and as I opened my heart to her, I'd grown to know her well. Kya had begun to trust me more than she trusted anyone else eventually, and that was when she'd become my second Padawan Learner.

Kya left me for her own room with a quiet farewell. I ruffled her hair gently as she passed. _Enough reminiscing. Time to meditate_. I settled down to meditate, to prepare mentally and physically for the fight ahead. Kya hadn't gone with me when he and Anakin had rescued the Chancellor, and had no concept of how hard it had been to battle Grievous. I, as the Master, would have to cover for my apprentice, insuring that she wouldn't be hurt.

I sighed, annoyed; my thoughts wouldn't let me meditate peacefully. _Why did the Council allow Kya to come? This mission will be more dangerous for her than anything; I should have argued more for Anakin to come along. Kya may be one of the most advanced Padawans in our Order, but she's barely sixteen. I should have – _

A scream ripped through the bond, and my eyes snapped open.

_Kya!_


	4. Chapter 2

**_Chapter Two_**

**19 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I was having a nightmare.

I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Pain was intense. I screamed as my braid was torn from my head once more, and screamed again as pain ripped through me.

"Kya!"

I woke, shivering and sweating. A hand was on my shoulder, and concerned blue-green eyes peered at me.

"Are you alright, Padawan?"

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I watched my apprentice worriedly. Kya had never gotten a nightmare like this before; at least, not for long. She'd always managed to get out of it on her own.

She shivered again, and I shifted my position slightly. I held my arms open, and Kya came into my embrace willingly. I stroked her hair gently, like a father does to a daughter, resting my head on hers. I had no idea when Kya had become my daughter, just like I had no idea when Qui-Gon had become my father, but I cared for her nonetheless. Anakin had become my brother; he had never been my son, only a very annoying brother who'd saved my life as many times as I'd saved his. Before Kya, I had never known what it must have been like to care for someone as your child like my own Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, had, but now I had a really good idea what it was like.

After all, Qui-Gon had raised me in a time of peace, where only the most dangerous of missions threatened our lives. I was raising Kya in a time of war, where every mission had the potential of being the death of either of us.

Kya's shivers stopped eventually. _What was that about, Kya?_

I felt Kya stiffen against me when I asked across our bond, and I sighed. _It was about when you lost your first Master, wasn't it?_

I sensed Kya nod. "Sorry if I woke you, Master," she said, her voice slightly muffled.

"It's alright, little one," I replied, stroking her gently while pouring reassurance into her. I loved Kya too much to simply just brush off her nightmares, which were becoming more frequent.

I wasn't exactly surprised, though. When Kya was tired, nightmares plagued her more easily, and because of the smaller amounts of Knights in the Order, Kya had already been sent on several solo missions when I was absent from the Temple, resulting in her being more exhausted than ever much more often.

I had been very reluctant at first to risk her, but the Order needed Jedi and staying shut up in the Temple all the time frustrated and bored Kya, so I had eventually consented, albeit very reluctantly. My only stipulation was that any and all solo missions Kya was sent on, no matter how secretive or sensitive, were reported to me so that I knew where my Padawan was all the time.

And could, if the occasion rose, rescue her, for I would most likely be the closest to her, and would reach her faster than any Jedi team the Order could have spared from Coruscant and the war.

Luckily, the occasion had never arose, although every mission Kya went on still made me a nervous wreck until it was done.

"I was about to wake you anyway; soon we'll get to Utapau. Speaking of which," I continued, looking down at her, "you'd better get dressed."

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I gave a mighty swing at Grevious. _Blast it, he's strong_, I thought, ducking to avoid being beheaded as one of his arms blocked and the other retaliated. Well, I certainly hadn't expected Grevious to attack us with _four_ arms.

In the beginning, I had prepared to use my Form III, known as Soresu, which was the form my Master had trained me in and the one I felt most comfortable in. And as my Master was considered _the_ master of Soresu, my training hadn't gone to waste.

But I'd had to change that when Grievous had come at us with four arms, switching to my own personal style, which was a combination of Forms II, III, IV, and V. I had built my style to favor the heavy and elegant lightsaber hand-to-hand combat of Form II, the calm and evasiveness of Form III, the acrobatics and lightning moves of Form IV, and the power and opposition of Form V. Put together, they gave me a style that allowed me to almost always prevail.

I usually always prevailed, unless, of course, I faced off against a real _master_ of a form, like when I'd dueled with Master Windu, the creator and unquestioned master of Form VII, Vaapad. Form VII was, for the moment, the only form of lightsaber combat that I was still receiving extensive training in. That had been by far the worst defeat I'd ever suffered at the hands of one of our Order.

So far though, no matter what I'd done, only my Master had managed to get past Grievous's guard and cut off a hand. I'd come close, but never managed to make the blow land.

"Padawan!" my Master snapped suddenly, shoving at me with the Force both literally and through our bond. I could feel his relief as I leaped out safely of the way of Grevious's rolling wheel scooter. My Master landed beside me, a slightly amused look on his face as he sensed my relief at _his_ safe landing. My shields weren't in the best condition at the moment, but my Master had predicted that, so he had already placed additional shields around me, just in case.

"Stay here!" he shouted, trying to be heard over all the sounds of full-fledged battle. "Stay with Cody!"

"What about Grevious?" I shouted back, trying to hold back the sudden fear that sprouted in me from crossing our bond. From his answer, though, I knew that he had felt it.

"I'll take care of him. You report to the Council and then stay put!"

"But what if Grevious gets the upper hand on you?" I couldn't keep the concern out of my face or voice this time.

"He won't! I can take care of him, but I don't want you to get hurt!"

Obi-Wan gave me a brief embrace that became slightly longer as I hugged him back. "Stay safe, little one," he whispered in my ear. Obi-Wan was like my father, and I wished with all my heart that he would be safe.

Then my Master was gone, leaping down with the aid of the Force to land on his lizard and race off after Grievous.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
It hurt a lot when Grevious flung me at the little escape ship. It hurt even more when he kicked me and then flung me to the edge.

I grunted, barely catching hold of something to avoid falling over the edge completely. _Great_, I thought hazily. _Now I _really_ don't have the upper hand._ I shook my head slightly. _But I also wouldn't have wanted Kya involved in this. It's bad enough with just me; I wouldn't want Kya hurt fighting Grievous._

"Master!" came the scream. Kya had raced onto the scene, her lightsaber ignited. She swung viciously at him, not using any particular lightsaber form, just trying to distract Grievous and cause as much damage as she could.

Unfortunately, Kya's fear for me short-circuited her connection to the Force, as powerful as it was, and she was giving ground. I pulled myself up enough just in time to see Grievous manage to get through her guard, knocking her down and sending her lightsaber skidding across the ground.

But as my apprentice hit the ground, she used her gift to the extreme, and sent me a burst of powerful and refreshing energy. It was enough for me to summon Grievous's dropped blaster to my hand, and shoot.

Grievous howled in agony as the first shot reached him, and – to my relief – turned his attention briefly from my apprentice to me, giving me a better target. He took a step forward, arm cocked back to throw the electro-staff at me . . .

. . . and died.

"Kya!" Concern for her gave me the strength to pull myself up. I knelt by Kya's side, cradling her, and reached for the Force and our bond.

_Kya? Kya!_

Kya's blue eyes flickered open, and she groaned softly. I lifted her up gently, and sighed in relief when I found no wound.

"Master?" she asked softly. I gently brushed her mind, happy to be able sense her mind again, and she sighed in relief at the reassuring and familiar touch.

I cradled her close, concern flickering through me. "You should have stayed put like I told you to," I scolded gently.

Kya pushed herself to a sitting position, freeing herself from my grasp. I caught her again as she swayed, still dizzy. "But he was going to push you over, Master, and you didn't have your lightsaber," she protested.

I sighed. Sometimes Kya could be as impulsive as Anakin. "If Grevious could defeat me so easily, little one, I wouldn't be a Jedi Master." _Much less _Anakin's_ Master. He can get in more trouble in a second than even Qui-Gon and I could ever get in all of our years together. And this blasted war sure doesn't help anything._

Kya flushed, and I laughed again. "Well, no permanent harm done, Padawan," I said, rising. "Did you report to the Council?"

"Of course," she replied, taking my hand to stand up as she summoned her lightsaber. "I spoke to Master Windu and Jedi Skywalker when I made contact."

"Good." I scanned the area, and heard the battles raging in the distance. "Let's go and finish this battle."

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
_Blast these Force-cursed droids_, I thought as I hacked through them. _Why can't someone make a droid that surrenders like a normal person would?_

At least my Master had gotten his lightsaber back earlier from one of the clones. I would've, of course, given mine to him had the occasion warranted it, and fought the droids with a blaster, but I was thankful that I didn't have too. I didn't like blasters anymore than my Master – or any Jedi, for that matter – did.

I spun gracefully, allowing the Force to carry me around and then over the spider droid, landing precisely out of its reach. Then I charged from behind and plunged my lightsaber through the control panel, effectively disabling it. _Good. One down . . . and ten thousand more to go._

_Padawan?_

I started as my Master's mind touched my own. We rarely used mind contact, for we both had memories we were eager to shield. And a lot of my own power and potential was instinctive, and although my Master was the only person who had a pretty good idea of the extent of my power, we were careful to make sure we didn't overwhelm each other accidentally. That would do no good at all.

_Master?_

_Padawan, have Cody move the troops more into the upper levels. I'm getting swamped over here with all of these blasted droids._

_I mirror your sentiments concerning these droids perfectly, Master_, I replied. _But firstly – the great Negotiator, Jedi Master and Senior General Obi-Wan Kenobi, cannot handle some mere droids?_

I sensed my Master's mood shift from annoyance to amused exasperation as my comment registered. _Padawan, how many times have you heard me tell _Anakin_ about how there's a time and a place for such humor?_

_Let's see . . . there was my first mission with you, the mission with Ahsoka, the mission for that Senator – _

_Padawan!_

_Okay, okay. Ranor out._

I turned to Commander Cody and opened my mouth just as he received an incoming transmission. "Commander Cody," I heard a small blue hologram of a cloaked man say, "the time has come. Execute Order 66."

"It will be done, my Lord."

I spun to face him, a question forming on my lips. That man had been Chancellor Palpatine, I was sure, yet he wasn't any type of Lord.

Suddenly, shock waves ripped through the Force. Screams echoed through it, and I jerked around, the Force warning me about something.

Something fired, and a powerful explosion erupted around where my Master was.

"Master!" I screamed, reaching out through the Force. He couldn't die, not now! The war was supposed to be over now that Grievous was dead!

A blaster bolt grazed my hand, and I turned to see clones firing at me. _Clones? What's going on? My Master is the general of these clones! Why are they firing at me?_

Then a blaster bolt reached me, and I blacked out.


	5. Chapter 3

**_Chapter Three_**

The Force rippled, screaming, as one by one, Jedi were killed. The Force began to tip dangerously out of balance. In the beginning it had been blinded by light; now, it was clouded with an ever-growing and looming darkness. But the Force had no intention of allowing it to continue. As Padawan Kya Ranor started to join the Force, it lashed out with all the power it had.

**32 BBY**

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
"What's this? _Two_ pathetic life-forms?"

"Padawan," I chided gently, laying the girl down on the spare bed. Her long brown hair was beginning to spill out of her elegant coil, which held her hair out of her face. She was still unconscious, so I had no idea what her eyes were like, but I imagined them to be like Tahl's – a wild and yet beautiful mix green and gold.

I had discovered the girl lying in the sand just as our ship came into view. Anakin had been trailing behind, far behind, but thankfully one of the Queen's men had been waiting, and at my request had carried the girl in. I had then turned to encourage Anakin, but that was when everything had been interrupted by the Sith who'd attacked me. It had been only a few minutes ago that I had remembered the strange Padawan.

"Surely even you can sense this child's pain? And what's more, she has a Padawan braid." I touched the girl's long Padawan braid, which was decorated with almost as many markers as Obi-Wan's was. Then I concentrated on gently prying her fingers from her lightsaber. It was a hard task. Her lightsaber was clutched tightly.

And it did not help that instead of being relaxed, the unknown Padawan was stiff and tense, as if she'd been in the middle of fighting. Her expression was a strange mix of tension, concern, fear, and anger.

A very dangerous combination, if her emotions reflected her expression. Fear and anger belonged to the dark side of the Force, and Jedi tried to stay away from using them.

"But no Jedi are stationed on Tatooine, Master," my Padawan protested, but even he looked uncertain.

I turned my eyes toward the unconscious and injured Padawan. "That's what I would like to find out too."

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I groaned, waking up slowly, very slowly. Tears filled my eyes as memories rushed back. "Master," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut, trying to push away the awful memory of the explosion.

I sat up, curling into a small ball, my head tucked into my knees. A tear escaped, trailing down my face. I didn't try to stop it. My Master was always telling me that grief led to anger, and to the dark side, but that . . . that didn't help now. They were just flat, meaningless words.

_How do you put your life back together_, I wondered bitterly, _when you have just lost everything once more?_ Master Kenobi had brought me out of my sadness and depression, had made me laugh and learn again. Without him, I felt adrift, alone in a fog that only I could not penetrate.

And what would the Council do with me now? I was once more a burden, a Padawan without a Master for the second time. _And in only three years_, I thought, tears threatening to spill out.

"Are you alright, Padawan?"

A gentle voice filled the room, and I heard footsteps. My eyes snapped open, and instinct found me on my feet, my lightsaber out and extended in guard position before I could even recognize the voice.

_Master?_ I thought hopefully, reaching out with my senses. Only my Master would've called my 'Padawan', right?

But no, it couldn't be. My Master's voice was different, and I couldn't sense him. I should've been able to, but . . . where was the bond?

"Who – Who are you?" The question tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Where am I? Where's my Master?"

"Relax, young one," the man said gently, reaching a hand toward me. "No one is going to hurt you. We are on our way to the Temple on Coruscant."

I looked up, straight up at the man this time, startled. Then I gasped, scrambling away as memory matched the man standing in front of me with a very famous – and definitely deceased – Jedi.

"I am Qui-Gon Jinn. We found you when we were taking off from Tatooine," he said calmly, as if it were the most normal thing to happen.

_Qui-Gon Jinn?!_ My mind struggled to accept the fact as reality as I struggled to keep my hand – which held my still-activated lightsaber – steady._ But – But he's dead! He was killed!_

"How can you be Qui-Gon Jinn? He was killed over thirteen years ago!"

The man laughed. "I'm still much very alive, Padawan." Master Jinn peered at me, crossing his arms. "What's you name, young one?"

I straightened unconsciously, fingering my Padawan braid. "I'm Padawan Kya Ranor." My eyes swept the room. "Where's the Chancellor?"

"Finis Valorum is on Coruscant," he answered, concern beginning to show in his dark blue eyes. "Padawan Ranor, please, relax. You'll hurt yourself more if you – "

"Where's Master Kenobi? Is he all right? Is the war over?" The questions tumbled out. I _had_ to make sure my Master was okay.

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
I regarded the Padawan in front of me questioningly. _Did she just say what I thought she said?_ Master_ Kenobi? Obi-Wan's still an apprentice, and mine to boot._

I made my decision. Grabbing my comlink, I said, "Obi-Wan? Please come down here. She's awake, and she wants to see you for some reason."

My apprentice was down quickly, and as he walked in, the girl's eyes widened, taking in his appearance.

"Impossible," she whispered, sliding down to the floor, her lightsaber falling from her hand. "You – This is impossible! What happened? Why – Why are you – Why do you have the braid again? Who's this? Qui-Gon's dead, you told me yourself, he died thirteen years ago during the Naboo War at Maul's hand – What's he doing here?"

Questions flew from the girl, and my apprentice took a step back when he heard "Qui-Gon's dead". The girl's sapphire eyes were dark blue now, darker than even mine, and in them I saw an innocence lost early in life, and an early life that bordered on chaos that forced everyone to grow up and mature.

Briefly, I wondered what could have happened to the Padawan – and such a young one, too – to make her like that. A more private part of my mind also wondered what kind of Master she could have had, to put a young girl, barely into her teenage years, through such turmoil.

The girl burst out crying suddenly, her exhaustion and emotional turmoil proving too much for her.

I reached out quickly with the Force, and nudged the girl into sleep with a Force-suggestion. The shields protected the majority of her mind were very, very strong, but her eyes closed and she slumped as she gave in to the suggestion.

"What was that all about, Master?" Obi-Wan asked, stepping to my side and scooping up her lightsaber, eyeing the Padawan warily. I eyed the girl as well, my mind still reeling from the brief contact. Her mind, so young, already had some feelings that I wouldn't have associated with anyone but the oldest and most battle-worn of our Council Masters, like the exhaustion of fighting too many battles coupled with the pain of seeing the loss of too many of your brothers and sisters.

"I haven't the slightest idea, Padawan."

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I thrashed in my nightmare, once again unable to move or breathe. But this one was different. This time, I felt my Master's presence wink out agonizingly slowly, and the bond shattered into a million pieces.

"No!" I screamed, reaching for my Master with all the strength I had within me. "No – No, Master, please!"

"Padawan Ranor!" A strong hand gripped my shoulder tightly, shaking my out of the nightmare.

My eyes opened, and tears slid down my cheeks as I took a shuddering breath. My Master knelt next to me once again, but he was different. Younger. Still unburdened by war and loss. Still bearing the braid that marked his status as a Padawan. _Master Jinn's Padawan._

_I must have been sent back in time_, I thought. _To thirteen years ago._ "Thank you, Mas-Padawan Kenobi," I said quietly.

He folded his arms. "No problem, Padawan Ranor."

I smiled shyly at him, slightly intimidated. He was a Padawan Learner still, not a Jedi Master with a seat on the Council, but he was a senior Padawan, ready for the Trials, and I could sense his confidence and power. I might be stronger than he was, but he had a great deal more experience than me. If I was to say who more deserved the title senior Padawan between us, the obvious answer would be him.

"Call me Kya," I offered. _Might as well alleviate his suspicions. Padawans usually address each other by their first names, not official titles._

"Only if you call me Obi-Wan."

_This is so weird._


	6. Chapter 4

**_Chapter Four_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I slowly became adjusted to this strange new life. It was strange to speak to Obi-Wan as an equal, and often I slipped up and called him "Master" again. _It's hard to break a habit that's nearly three years old_, I thought once after I had slipped up.

Obi-Wan, for his part, brushed it off. I found that, when we sparred, we were nearly equal, much to his – and my – surprise. I often lost to him, though, because my eyes were busy picking up on and honing on the hints of his style that I detected were present in my own as well.

His Master, however, wasn't as easy. Master Jinn had watched me with narrowed eyes for days, and I couldn't blame him. I'd said he had died, and had called his apprentice "Master Kenobi". He was also wary of the fact that my style quite clearly had hints of Obi-Wan's, and since Obi-Wan's style definitely had hints of Master Jinn's, so did mine.

But eventually I persuaded him that I'd just gone through a vision, and was having some difficulties regaining my sense of balance, and so deflected all questions. The one that made my throat tighten and the one that was the most painful to deflect was the one question about who my Master was.

_I'm really lucky that I didn't just blurt out 'Master' when I saw him_, I reflected.

It was fun to speak to Anakin as an equal too. As a child, he was younger than me and therefore much more open with me. He smiled easily, laughed easily, lived easily. It wasn't that hard to become friends with him. Looking at him – so innocent, eyes bright, happy, content, affable – I could barely see the Skywalker _I_ remembered – haunted, sharp, bitter.

However, all of that didn't stop him from experimenting and leaving the clean-up for me and Obi-Wan, though.

_Guess some things never change_, I thought ruefully, trying to hold a squirming Anakin still so that we could make sure his injuries weren't serious.

One night, as I lay resting, listening quietly to the quite familiar sound of Obi-Wan's breathing, I pondered what I was doing nearly thirteen years in the past. That the Force had sent me back was not a question, but what was my purpose? Why send a mere Padawan who hadn't even really been . . . aware of what was going on back?

_Maybe to stop this war_, I thought, rolling over again to try and find a comfortable spot to await sleep – once, of course, my heart stopped pounding.

_Maybe, even, to stop Master Jinn's death._

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
"Anything else, Master Jinn?" Master Windu asked as I made my unfinished, unofficial, and very informal report. As soon as we had been cleared of danger, I had connected to Masters Yoda and Windu to ask advice and rely some of the more troubling things about this mission. I had not, however, informed them of Anakin or Padawan Ranor. _But that will change._

"Actually, yes. Did the Council station any Jedi on Tatootine prior to this?"

Master Windu frowned as the hologram flickered, glancing at Master Yoda for confirmation. "No. Hutts control Tatootine, and Jedi do not frequent there. Why do you ask?"

"As we left the planet, I discovered a Jedi Padawan. She's young, only about fifteen or sixteen, but she was hurt badly. When she regained consciousness, she was very suspicious of everyone, but most especially me."

I paused, knowing that what I would say next would trouble the Masters the most.

"She asked for Obi-Wan, but addressed him as 'Master Kenobi', and demanded to know who I was. She also claimed that I couldn't be Qui-Gon Jinn, because Qui-Gon had been killed thirteen years ago, ten or so years before the wars began."

Silence reigned for a moment as all of our thoughts centered on Padawan Ranor.

"Before us, bring this Padawan," Master Yoda instructed.

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
"So you and Obi-Wan are just gonna . . . fight?"

I couldn't believe my ears. Kya had taken me along with her when she and the other Jedi were excising. I had sensed a lot of tension between the Jedi at first, but now it seemed to be mostly dissolved.

At any rate, Master Qui-Gon welcomed the both of us warmly. "Padawan Ranor, I wondered when you were going to be joining us. Ah, hello, Annie."

Kya smiled in return. "Thank you, Master Jinn," she replied softly. "But I ran into Queen Amidala on the way here and stopped to talk about what her next move might be when she reaches Coruscant."

I stared at Kya in surprise. Kya seemed much too confident and headstrong to be content to speak about politics with the Queen of Naboo; she seemed even to resent Master Qui-Gon's authority, so I assumed that she disliked all figures of authority.

"Not all figures of authority, Annie," Kya said with a laugh, turning to me. "I _am_ still an apprentice, you know, and so still am under the . . . uh, _command_ of my Master." She turned her smile upon Obi-Wan, who had since straightened and joined us. "Just like I'm sure Padawan Kenobi still is," she finished teasingly.

Master Qui-Gon raised an eyebrow as Kya and Obi-Wan shared a look. "I am sure that my Master is not in _command_ of me, Kya," Obi-Wan replied, but a glint had reached his eyes, one that was shared in Kya's.

I found, to my extreme unhappiness, that whatever they were sharing was something that I could not relate to. I was surprised, however, to see that glint. I had sensed Obi-Wan's dislike of me since the moment that we had been introduced, and had yet to see him laugh or smile – to act as though he wasn't devoid of emotion.

"So, Obi-Wan, ready to spar?" Kya asked.

Obi-Wan responded with a shrug. "Sure, if you are," he replied easily, tossing aside his cloak.

Kya copied his movement, but then turned suddenly to me. "Skywalker, you might want to go to the sidelines with Master Jinn."

I frowned. _Since when did she call me 'Skywalker'?_

But it was too late to ask. Kya and Obi-Wan simultaneously slashed with blue blades at each other.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I leaped back as Kya slashed at my torso, and retaliated with a swing of my own. She parried immediately, shoving at me both with the Force and with her strength, forcing me to take a hasty step back. I disengaged before the crossed blades could reach my face, and then feinted before thrusting with an overhead strike.

"_Blast it_," I heard her snarl under her breath as I managed to give her a burn on her shoulder. She flipped away from me, giving herself time to breathe. I didn't follow, hesitating. Her skill with the blade was extraordinary, and I didn't want to tempt my luck.

I sensed my Master frown as Kya slowed to a stop, her lightsaber in guard position. Her eyes were now closed, and I felt the Force swirl around her. To my Force-enlightened senses, it was like she was absorbing the Force in its entirety, both the Unifying and the Living Force.

I jumped as her eyes snapped open, and she charged. Her style had suddenly shifted from Soresu to a combination of Makashi and a different form, one that I'd never seen before.

I felt my Master's surprise flow across our bond.

Kya's swings had become vicious and quick, forcing me to retreat. Even with the Force and my experience at dueling, I had trouble bringing my blade far and fast enough to meet her strikes. And attacking her in return was just completely out of the question.

I couldn't believe it. I was at least ten years older than her, yet she was managing to drive me back.

In fact, I could barely keep up with her strikes at all.

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
My heart leapt into my throat as I watched Padawan Ranor drive Obi-Wan back. My breath caught as her style suddenly clicked in my memory – Vaapad. Form VII. One of the deadliest lightsaber forms in existence, created by Jedi Council Master Mace Windu. Combined with Makashi, a form dedicated to lightsaber dueling, Padawan Ranor's style offered no openings.

I felt my eyes narrow as I sensed the Force roiling around the girl. She had truly allowed herself access to Vaapad. Vaapad was a dangerous form because it required not only total surrender of oneself, but to also allow oneself to actually anticipate and _enjoy_ the battle, the very feeling Jedi were instructed from birth not to give into.

And yet here stood a Padawan Learner barely into her teenage years able to not only use Vaapad, but also to mesh it with other forms.

Truly, she was as dangerous as many of the Council members I'd ever crossed blades with, and yet barely half their age.

My eyes narrowed further as I sensed the Force roil around the girl even more. My breath caught again – this girl was not only able to fight, but able to use the Force, for she was calling upon both the Living and the Unifying Force to fight.

For years, that had been my argument against the Council – that both the Unifying and the Living Force had to be used for the Jedi to serve effectively. The Unifying Force granted one access to the future and its twisted, murky pathways, opening one's eyes to fragments of what could happen. The Living Force allowed one to really concentrate on the present, to unveil the unveiled, to peel back the shrouds of concealment. I was a follower of the Living Force; the Council members relied fully on the Unifying Force.

Both of us had lots of trouble following both arenas of the Force. I accused the Council of always turning their eyes to what could happen and never focusing on what was going on right then and there. The Council, in turn, accused me of never stopping to consider the future consequences of my actions.

The Force screamed a warning, jerking me out of musings, and I saw, to my horror, in slow motion, Padawan Ranor disarming my apprentice while knocking him to the floor. Fear for my apprentice plus my mastery of the Force propelled me forward as her blade descended.

The next thing I knew, I was standing over my apprentice, my green blade crossed with hers, preventing hers from descending into my apprentice.

It was then that I noticed that Kya's eyes were no longer sapphire, but a cold ice blue that offered none of the serenity that Jedi prized, but instead offered hate and pain . . . the kind only found in Sith.


	7. Chapter 5

**_Chapter Five_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I jerked suddenly, coming out of my fighting trance to find my blade crossed against Master Jinn's.

I disengaged at once, shock filling my mind. It was then I noticed that Obi-Wan was shaking with exhaustion, and that even Master Jinn was beginning to loose strength.

_You blasted idiot! You did it again._

I hastily stepped back, instantly deactivating my lightsaber. I closed my eyes once again, reaching out to the Force . . . and blocking my link with it.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I stood slowly, and called my lightsaber to me. My Master deactivated his as Kya took an unsteady step away from us. Her face was filled with unconcealed shock.

My Master's expression – and thoughts – were dark. I glanced at him, but then my gaze snapped back to Kya's as I sensed the flow of the Force suddenly cease to flow around Kya, as if it was blocked from her.

Kya let out a long, shuddering breath as the Force stopped reaching her, and I frowned, taking a step forward.

_How did Kya do that? Only Force-suppressants can block the Force from a Jedi._

But then I jerked back. Energy seemed to flow into me, and weights seemed to lift themselves from my muscles. Suddenly I felt stronger and better and less tired, as though I had just woken up from a half-awoken daze.

Funny how I hadn't noticed that until now.

My Master, it seemed, also felt the same way, from the sidelong glance he gave me. "Padawan Ranor," he began, "what was – "

Kya swallowed tightly as she opened her eyes. Unlike the confidence which she had just shown as we were dueling, now she seemed only to project exhaustion.

"I apologize for that," she said softly, her voice tired as well. She rubbed her forehead, and as she turned away I heard her mutter darkly, "Great . . . twice I've done that. . . Next time . . . careful."

I watched Kya walk away slowly. But for some reason, she still continued to block her connection to the Force.

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
I descended from the ramp first, relieved to be back on Coruscant, the home of the Jedi Temple and the Galactic Republic. My apprentice followed without hesitation, as did Anakin, Jar Jar, and Kya. I frowned slightly as Kya kept herself carefully away from us.

Kya hadn't really interacted with either Obi-Wan or me since the duel that had gone awry. Something had happened, and Kya was fearful, I knew, that it would happen again. She had kept herself under careful control for the duration of the journey, giving short and careful answers and keeping to her room.

And also keeping a tight rein on her connection to the Force.

I hadn't felt her really touch the Force since the duel, not once. I had only sensed it flowing around her when she had used it unconsciously, to warm up or to practice. But never to duel. She had refused to cross blades again, and definitely to use the Force in our presence.

I sensed her suddenly stop short, her eyes fixed on Senator Palpatine. She wavered, a sense of horror, hate, and disgust building behind her shields.

My frown reappeared just as Kya seemed to catch herself, and she bowed, but the bow was curt and shallow.

"Forgive me, Chancellor, Senator. My mind is stretched at this point."

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I fidgeted slightly as Master Jinn made his official report to the Council. "My only conclusion," he was saying, "was that it was a Sith Lord."

The Council was quick to deny it. I closed my eyes and sighed. _Well, now I know how the Council reacted to a Sith Lord. Pity they did not act then – uh, now. It would have saved us from entering the Clone Wars_.

My thoughts turned inward then, tuning out the conversation. I considered my actions. Firstly, during the duel. . . I had let my control slip away, the control that I should have always exerted when using Vaapad when dueling someone. If Master Jinn hadn't stopped me, I might well have _killed _Obi-Wan. And then, on the landing pad, seeing Palpatine's smirking face – there too I should have exerted more control. For Force's sake, I was almost 16 – control should have been second nature to me by now.

"Something to say, have you, Padawan?" Master Yoda said. I opened my eyes at once, startled. _This_ was a deviation from what my Master had said about the reaction to Master Jinn's declaration way back during the Naboo War.

"No."

Master Yoda merely looked at me. I could tell he didn't believe me.

I sighed. "Yes. Master Jinn did encounter a Sith, and if this Council wishes to save further generations from living under the shadow of the Sith, I suggest that you act quickly to exterminate him."

"And you know this how?" Master Windu asked, his dark eyes scanning me. I met his gaze boldly, not wavering. My shields had become very strong under the training of Master Kenobi and the brutality of war, and I had faced off against Master Windu and the Council many times before since becoming a Padawan and handling the solo missions that made my Master so nervous.

"I . . . had a vision about it," I replied, trying to bury the truth.

"Speaking the whole truth, you are not," Master Yoda interrupted. I glared at him. _Trust Master Yoda to pick on that. Now I have to explain without giving everything away. Force, the Force has a blasted strange sense of humor, sending me back like this. At least, I _think_ it sent me back in time._

"Had I spoken the whole truth, this Council would have declared me insane," I replied, earning myself some glares and confused looks from the Masters around me. "My Master dealt with things like this during the war, and I remember how he always said that if the Council had only paid more attention to Master Jinn's claim during the Naboo War, maybe the wars wouldn't have started. Maybe the hundred or so Jedi that perished on the Battle of Geonosis would still be alive. Maybe the thousands of civilians and Jedi who have died in the wars would still be alive. Maybe Master Jinn himself would have survived the attack. Maybe . . . maybe my Master wouldn't have just died, and the Sith wouldn't – couldn't have nearly destroyed the Order."

"Who _is_ your Master?" Master Gallia challenged, a steady hand on her lightsaber hilt.

I spun around, surprised to see her still alive, memory reminding me of the terrible moment when all the Jedi had felt Master Gallia die when screams rippled through the Force. My Master had returned to Coruscant, and I was reporting to him and the Council of my solo assignment when we had felt the tremor. Well, I hadn't really felt it myself; the Masters had been watching my memories, and I had felt the tremor from them, as they were much more attuned then me.

It had happened soon after the war had broken out; Master Gallia had been killed by Grievous before Master Windu could help her. _Of course she's still alive, you fool_, I scolded myself. _She didn't die 'till later_.

Master Windu held up a hand, stilling both Master Gallia and my scathing answer. "Last I checked, Padawan Ranor, no war is going on, Master Jinn is still alive, and we have not lost a hundred or so Jedi in a battle."

"You will," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut in pain, my voice taking on a prophetic tone. I recalled the pain that everyone in the Temple had felt at the start of the wars. "The Order was dying, all of us. One by one we fell to the Sith and their armies. We were few, so few, against the armies of droids that we faced. Everyone went on mission after mission, and even Padawans were sent on solo assignments to cover for the Knights and Masters who fell under the onslaught of droids and Grievous."

Pain filled my tone, the pain that I'd stuffed and hidden under countless missions, the pain that reflected the agony that every Jedi had felt as more and more of us died.

"The Temple was utterly destroyed, ambushed, burned. My Master and I – and a thousand others – were ambushed and killed by the very battalions we commanded." My voice cracked as I relived the sensations I had felt through my bond with my Master. "The Force was . . . raw. It felt so wrong. Everything – and everyone – was screaming. Jedi were dying by the hundreds – younglings, apprentice, Knights, Masters – everyone. Everyone was dead and gone, and the Sith ruled again. And – "

I spun suddenly, my lightsaber flying to my hand. I ignited it smoothly, ignoring the startled gasps of the Masters. I quested out with my senses.

Someone had touched my mind, touched it through the bond.

That could only mean one thing – my Master was still alive.

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
"Master!" came the girl's startled cry. Her eyes were open, but they stared past the windows that encircled the Council chambers, trying to see something else. Her cry echoed strongly in the Force, causing ripples that I was certain all the Jedi could feel.

Mace and Adi were standing, their lightsabers also drawn – but they were not ignited. Not yet. Everyone, even Obi-Wan, could sense that the girl was no threat at all.

"Master, where are you?" the girl cried desperately. The Force swelled around her in an amazing amount. I gasped as I felt the enormity of the power that this child could summon. Her strength nearly rivaled Master Yoda, and she was only fifteen standard years old. "What's going on?" Then the blue eyes widened as the Force swelled even more. "No – no, that can't be! Anakin wouldn't – Mace couldn't have; he's too strong to die like that – Palpatine couldn't be – Yoda would – "

"NO!"

The scream echoed through the chambers. The girl's despair was evident, and everyone could sense that the girl was terrified.

Terrified of something the rest of us could not see.

Then she collapsed, her blue blade winking out as she hit the ground.

I frowned. The girl had said that "my Master wouldn't have died". My frown deepened as I considered the options for the girl's sudden reaction. I felt an inkling of hope. Maybe this strange Master had tried to contact the girl, and she'd felt him, tried to contact him back.

Almost immediately my mind ran into trouble. If the girl's Master had contacted her, then there could only be one explanation for the girl's heart-shattering scream – her Master had been killed.

Other Masters sat stunned at the words that had poured from the girl before her collapse.

The phrases, I admitted, were disturbing. "Anakin wouldn't" and "Mace couldn't have died" were strong phrases, and they didn't exactly carry pleasant implications of what they actually meant to Kya.

An idea occurred to me. Usually a Padawan would acknowledge a Master by the formal tone and title. The informality made me wonder – what if Mace was this girl's _future_ Master?

As I emerged from my musings, Mace had stepped forward, lightsaber now ignited, as Adi commed the Archives. Within moments, we had the answer.

There was no record of anyone in the history of the Jedi Order with the name of Kya Ranor.


	8. Chapter 6

**_Chapter Six_**

**19 BBY**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
As I slipped past the clones that I had once commanded and now had turned on me, something caught my eyes. My breath caught. _No!_

The clones had my Padawan.

I cursed under my breath. Kya's lightsaber was held by one of the clones. Kya herself was unconscious. The clones had blasters trained on her as they snapped electrical binders on her wrists.

I cursed again. I wouldn't leave my Padawan behind. It was the duty of the Master to protect the apprentice as much as possible.

_I should have taken her with me when I headed the attack_, I realized unhappily._ Then we wouldn't have been separated when the clones turned on us._

As I melted back into the shadows, I decided to wait. At the moment, a rescue mission would only attract more attention and would spell suicide and failure. I couldn't risk my Padawan's safety by doing something so impulsive.

_I _will_ come for you, Padawan_, I vowed.

**32 BBY**

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
"This is impossible!" declared the Jedi Healer, waving a hand around for emphasis. She pointed at the bed where the girl lay, her breathing very shallow. Other healers were rushing around, administering bacta and other things.

"How can the records say that this girl doesn't exist? Why, she's right in front of me! She even has a Padawan braid, and a Master-Padawan bond!"

I pondered the riddle as well. Master Nu had spent the better part of the day searching the Archives, but the first scan had come up dry. There was no record, even in the Senate's archives, of anyone named Kya Ranor, much less someone who was a Jedi Padawan called Kya Ranor.

And yet the girl was in front of us, being healed. When she had been brought to the healers, chaos had ensued. The healers had been furious that the Council had waited so long to bring the girl. She was injured very badly, with so many burns and scars that even Yoda winced at seeing them. Yet she had stood in front of them and resisted all the probes the Council had sent her way to batter down her shields.

It was obvious that whoever had trained her had trained her very well.

"She has a Master-Padawan bond?" interrupted Adi, her gaze snapping to the healer.

"Yes, but it is dormant now. It must have flared in the Council chambers, and she must have responded."

"Can the Master be traced through the bond?" asked another Master of the Council, stepping forward.

"I doubt it," the healer replied, running a hand distractedly through her hair. "Padawan Ranor is in a very deep healing trance; no one can reach her. Only she can pull herself out. She has very strong shields."

Then another healer ran over, and whispered something in her ear.

"What?" the healer exclaimed. She whirled on her heel and placed a hand on the girl's forehead. Her frown grew deeper as she stared at Kya.

"What is – "

Then a strong ripple burst through the Force. My head snapped up, and many others jumped. A strong sense of someone searching desperately radiated from the ripple. I extended my senses toward the search. What I sensed shocked me.

Someone was calling out for Kya.

**19 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I came to, finally. Someone cradled me gently, so I at once knew it wasn't a clone. But nor was I out of danger, apparently, as I could hear shouts and shots in the distant background and could smell the ozone of recent blaster shots.

There had been a fight here recently. _Very_ recently, as the smell was strong and sharp.

"Kya?" came the gentle voice from somewhere above me.

I relaxed in the hold. _Master?_

A familiar presence brushed my mind, a touch I knew like the back of my hand. It was my Master.

I nestled deeper into the gentle hold, instinctively burying my face into the soft weave of my Master's tunic. My fingers tightened on his tunic, not letting go. I _wouldn't_ let go. Tears of relief slipped from my eyes, wetting my face and his tunic, but I didn't care right now about keeping a straight mask.

My Master was alive. He was alive. He was _alive_.

He bore it patiently, but I knew that he felt just the same as me. His hold around me was tighter than usual, and I could sense the huge relief in his emotions through our bond.

I felt the same relief. Partly it was that he was alive and safe, and that he had come after me despite everything. And partly it was because now I didn't have to go through the pain of losing yet another beloved Master to this stupid war.

But I didn't think about that right now.

_If this is a dream_, I thought, _then I hope I'm dead and dreaming. I don't want to wake up._

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I chuckled gently at my Padawan's behavior as she pushed herself deeper into my embrace, seeking comfort and warmth and reassurance – reassurance that I was alive and that this wasn't all a dream conjured by her imagination.

"Come on, little one. You can't sleep forever," I said softly. I didn't want to push her, but we couldn't linger too long; the longer we stayed put, the better the chances of being found.

Kya's eyes flew open again at this. I peered down at her. She tried to smile as I helped her stand.

After Kya was standing, I pulled my fifteen-year-old apprentice into a strong embrace. I sensed Kya press her face into my chest. I rested my chin on her head, stroking her hair gently. Kya trembled slightly, and pressed against me again. _She must have thought I was dead after the explosion._

"I'm sorry, little one," I said. I slowly opened the bond completely, and I felt her fear flood into me. I gently poured reassurance into her. _I'm safe, little one, and so are you._ "I should have taken you with me. Are you okay?"

Kya smiled, closing her eyes briefly. "I think so." She looked up at me then, a slight frown creasing her face.

"Good. We need to make – "

My head jerked up as the Force screamed a warning, and I darted in front of Kya to shield her as a clone patrol discovered us. My lightsaber hummed in my hands as I quickly decimated the patrol.

"Master, what's going on? Why are the clones attacking us?"

I deactivated my lightsaber, and wrapped a reassuring arm around Kya. "I don't know, little one, but we'll find out." I glanced around, clipping my lightsaber back on my belt. "Come on. We'd best make for Coruscant, and try to contact the Temple."

Kya frowned at me, and said bluntly, "You're all wet."

I sighed. Sometimes Kya could be so much like Anakin that it scared me. Anakin was blunt too. "What do you expect from one who has fallen in that big river down there?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her and gesturing down the platform.

My Padawan grinned up at me. "You fell and swam?" she teased, knowing my aversion to getting all wet for no reason.

I directed my gaze heavenward, unconsciously copying my own Master. _First Anakin, now Kya_, I thought with amused resignation. "Come on, little one," I said, choosing not to get involved in a debate as I had onboard the _Invisible Hand_. After all, _that_ one hadn't ended well.

"No! No, please, don't!"

I spun around, my eyes narrowed, my lightsaber out and activated. Anyone who intended harm to my apprentice would have to go through me first. I would allow no further harm to come to Kya; it must have been agony for her when I shielded the bond on my end after the explosion.

What I saw made my jaw drop.

Kya was on the floor, shaking in agony.

"Kya!"

I flew to her side at once, dropping to my knees, bringing Kya close. My heart was pounding in fear that something had happened to her, something bad, something that hurt her. I couldn't bear to lose her, not now of all times when I had been so close. I'd saved her from everything – but this. . .

I _could not_ lose her.

"Kya! Kya, what is it?"

I reached for our Master-Padawan bond, trying to reach my apprentice, trying to see what was wrong. I had to do _something_.

Kya's mind was a turmoil of emotions. Fear, anger, joy, sadness, hope – everything and nothing. But it was fading, receding into some place I couldn't follow or sense. For some reason, her mind was going dark, as if she was falling into a deep trance that she had no control over.

I spun out a probe, too desperate to be gentle.

And then the probe slammed into something, and a voice that was as desperate as I felt resounded in my mind.

_"Padawan Ranor! Kya! Come back! You're going too deep!"_

I jerked, startled out my meditative trance and losing my connection with her mind. Panting, I fought to regain my balance and figure out what was going on.

I could only come up with one conclusion.

Someone else was calling for Kya – and that someone was dragging her someplace I could not follow.


	9. Chapter 7

**_Chapter Seven_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
When I finally came back to myself, I found myself surrounded by mist. I was dressed in clean, warm Jedi robes, and my lightsaber hung on my belt.

"Where am I?"

I startled myself by asking aloud, but quickly recovered; there was no one here to hear me.

"In the netherworld of the Force," came an answer.

I jumped, spinning to face the voice's owner, my blade out and activated. My jaw dropped in shock. There before me stood a young woman. She had long golden hair that framed shining blue eyes. She too wore the tunic and robes of the Jedi Order, and a lightsaber hung down from her belt.

The first thing I noticed was her eyes. The blue eyes were deep, and were similar to that of those I'd assume were old and had seen too much death and betrayal.

"Who – or what – are you?"

The girl – woman, really – smiled. "I am Lady Elizabeth. Do not worry if you find that you have never heard of me, for the days when I was once a Jedi passed a long time ago."

"Lady Elizabeth, how am I to know that you speak truthfully?" I asked, my voice hard and my shields strong.

Lady Elizabeth tilted her head back slightly, smiling. Then, reaching down, she ignited her lightsaber, which shown a pure blue. "Firstly by the fact that my lightsaber is not the red of the Sith Lords. Secondly . . . I give you permission to examine the memories of the days when I was a Jedi. I ask only that you do not stray into my personal memories."

I stepped back in shock. Faint probes proved her right; her shields were down, and her hands were splayed. She even removed her lightsaber and tossed it to me, further proving that she would do no harm.

I caught her sword and admired the beauty of it. It was smooth and adorned with small decorations that were balanced and intertwined, reminding me of our Order. The Jedi tried to achieve balance, and also tried to work together all the time. I took a deep breath and reached out then, slowly making my way into her mind. Memories flooded me.

_A tall man, asking her to be her Padawan. She accepted graciously, and the match was approved by Master Yoda._

_Her exhaustion and determination as she worked hard to master Forms II and III._

_Her pride as, for the first time, she went on a solo mission, her Padawan braid now longer than before, and wound inside it were now the markers of achievement that all Padawans eventually gained._

_Her missions completed as she grew to womanhood, and then was Knighted._

_Her aching sadness as she received news of the death of her former Master._

_Her sadness easing slightly as she raised her own Padawan._

_Then, finally, the negotiations that went sour that claimed her life as she had protected her third and last apprentice from the fragmentation bomb shrapnel. Shrapnel that was difficult for even a full Jedi Master to deflect had pierced the guard of the Jedi Knight, and then claimed her life._

I gasped suddenly as I ran into iron-hard shields. Lady Elizabeth had not been lying when she'd said that even if I tried, I could not get into her personal memories. Her shields were strong, stronger than any Jedi I'd every met, even Master Yoda and Master Windu, the most powerful Jedi of our Order.

A cool hand touched my shoulder. Lady Elizabeth said gently, "Kya Ranor, the Force has granted you much. However, for those who are given much, much is expected in return. Are you willing to hear now the three tasks that must be completed?"

I shook myself out of the stupor. "Right. What are the tasks?"

"You will have three tasks to finish. The order in which you finish them does not matter. Firstly, defy the fate that was set in stone for Qui-Gon Jinn in your own world. Secondly, defy the destiny that is now being achieved by the Sith Lord Darth Sidious in your world. Thirdly, teach Anakin Skywalker the lesson that he must learn about the difference between attachment and love, the same lesson that he failed to learn in your world."

"Can you speak plainly? What really are my tasks?" I couldn't keep the exasperation of my voice. My Master had always been mostly straightforward with me; war demanded the complete truth.

The Lady shook her head. "No. That is the message I must and can give. I cannot say anymore." She sighed, also in frustration, which made her seem suddenly younger, around my age, instead of the ageless woman she first appeared to be. "Trust me, could I say any more, I would. But know this – you will understand those tasks when the occasion rises."

She gave me a pouch.

"What's this?" I asked, opening it.

I gasped as the contents slid into my hand – a delicate bracelet of three thin and beautiful white strands that gleamed like a star, and a small crystal bottle filled to the brim with a golden liquid that seemed brighter than the sun.

"They are . . . beautiful," I said when I could speak again.

The Lady smiled. "These are items you may use to achieve your three tasks. The bracelet has three strands, one for each task. When a task is completed, a strand will vanish. The liquid in the bottle will do what you ask of it. For example, if you ask it to heal, it will. If you ask it to melt through something, it will. But understand, child, that it cannot bring back the dead."

"Thank you very much," I said, bowing deeply. I slipped the bracelet on and fastened the bottle onto my belt alongside my lightsaber.

"The last things I can give you are advice and memories. For the advice, know that you cannot speak of your tasks when you return to your new realm until they are done. Also know that should you fail in your tasks, the Force will return you to where you were when it sent you back – and you were ready to join the Force. Lastly, know that your Master-Padawan bond is, as of now, blocked and shielded."

When I began to protest it, she said simply, "Do not fear for your Master. Obi-Wan Kenobi still has some tasks that he must complete before he is ready to join the Force. Until then, his destiny is to live.

"Now, for memories."

And with that, Lady Elizabeth reached out, touched my forehead, and spent me a dizzying wave of memories.

"_These memories are of your own – and proper, I might add – world. You will need them to understand your task."_

_The office of Chancellor Palpatine rose before my eyes. I frowned slightly. I didn't really like Palpatine at all. Then Master Windu and three other Masters entered. They tried to arrest him, but died instead. Then Anakin dashed in and disarmed Master Windu, condemning him to death._

_Another office rose to my eyes. In it, a cloaked man told the clones, "The time has come. Execute Order 66." All clones responded, "It will be done, my Lord."_

_Master Ki-Adi-Mundi on Mygeeto. Master Ayala Secura on Felucia. Master Plo Koon on Cato Neimodia. Master Stass Allie on Saleucami. All killed by their own clones._

_Legion upon legion marching into the Jedi Temple, led by . . . someone. Then, suddenly, with a lurch, I stood next to the man as he stood impassively by while the clones opened fire on the Temple. I gasped, reaching out with transparent fingers. "Anakin."_

_Another lurch. Now I stood helplessly by as Anakin slaughtered the Jedi. Master Drallig fell trying to shield his students. Master Nu, also killed, fell defending the younglings and the Archives._

_Senator Amidala of Naboo speaking with a protocol droid about Skywalker, then crying. She stood at a large window, watching the Jedi Temple burn. I could see – and sense – without a doubt that she was pregnant._

_Senator Organa of Alderaan flying down to speak to clones on a landing pad of the burning Temple. He began to leave, but then a Padawan sprang out, trying desperately to defend himself against the clones. I felt my heart begin to pound as I recognized the Padawan – it was Zett Jukassa, a young boy who became one of my rare friends during the Clone War. But no. Zett was killed as I heard Senator Organa shout "No!" before fleeing away in his speeder._

_Another lurch, this time even bigger. _

_I saw my Master and Master Yoda – thank the Force, they were alive! – in the now destroyed Temple. I saw my Master reset the beacon that called the Jedi home to be caught in the death trap that the Temple had become. Then my Master descended to watch the security holograms. I felt a sudden lurch of pain from him as he watched Anakin kill Jedi. _

_Then I saw a cloaked man arrive, and saw Anakin kneel down. "You have done well, my apprentice," came the soft, disturbing voice. I gasped. That voice – that man – that was Chancellor Palpatine! _He_ was the Sith Lord, the Master of the one who killed Master Jinn, the master of the traitor Dooku?_

_I saw my Master speak to Senator Amidala of Naboo, and saw him realize that she was pregnant. Then he said the sentence that rang in my ears – "Anakin is the father, isn't he?"_

_I raged against that. Anakin is-was a Jedi! Jedi didn't marry! But even I sensed the truth in it. Then I glimpsed a bond, a Force bond between the Senator and Anakin, and realized, beyond a doubt, that they had married, and whatever child the Senator carried was Anakin's. _

_I saw Anakin strangle Senator Amidala into unconsciousness, and saw the resulting fight between my Master and Anakin. I glimpsed the end of both battles – Master Yoda versus Darth Sidious, and my Master versus Ana-no, Darth Vader._

_I saw Senator Amidala name her twins and then fade. Her last words struck at my very soul as she begged my Master to understand, to agree, that Darth Vader still had some goodness. Hope flared within me before dying. How could the man – _monster_ who'd destroyed our Temple have goodness? For star's sake, he'd killed the woman he'd turned to the dark side to save!_

With one more, now annoying and slightly sickening lurch, I returned to consciousness. My eyes began to open, albeit very unwillingly.

The last sensation were soft words in my ear, words that at once seemed unhurried and too quickly to decipher. But somehow they also made sense, and they resonated deep within me, as if they had a connection to me that the inside of me somehow recognized.

"_I trust you to carry out your tasks._"


	10. Chapter 8

**_Chapter Eight_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I yawned, and gave my Master an apologetic glance. He sent me an amused look back that was tempered with understanding, and tugged gently on my Padawan braid.

I turned to Kya. She was still unconsciousness, deep in a healing trance that no one seemed to be able to pull her out of.

I cocked my head slightly. Kya unnerved me. She was no slouch with lightsabers when it came to dueling, and while her style heavily favored Form III and IV, Soresu and Ataru, I knew that my Master had detected hints of Forms II and V in her style as well.

I, who was almost ten years her senior, would have had trouble completing some of the movements that to her seemed second nature.

She also was good at diplomacy, easily deflecting questions from my Master in the first few days of knowing him, and also easily retaliating, forcing my Master to not only back off, but to lose ground.

Her connection to the Force was strong and she was well-trained in its use, having the control of and the skills of full Knight. The Force was strong and constant and unyielding around her, as if she was surrounded by it and used it every single second.

All in all, she was an almost perfect picture of a Padawan ready for ascension Knighthood, yet only fifteen years old and still bearing a Padawan braid.

When the healers had done a midi-chlorian count for Kya, her count was found to rival even Anakin's, somewhere between 18,000 and 21,000. That clearly explained Kya's power, but the healers were at loss to explain why her count varied with each new test.

I shivered slightly. If Kya was near Knight level so young, I shuddered at the thought of what her Master must be capable of.

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
I sat outside the healers' ward, waiting for Master Qui-Gon. He'd only come out for a few times since he'd gone in, and each explanation or reassurance had been rushed and brief, frustratingly empty of details.

I yawned widely. No Jedi, especially not those of Jedi Council, had taken any interest in me, instead focusing on the Padawan, Kya. Kya had been very nice to me after regaining her "balance", as she called it, after a vision that left her scared and jumpy. She'd treated me as an equal, with the same respect and affection she'd showed Master Jinn, Padawan Kenobi, and even Padmé.

I yawned again. _Maybe I can go and see Kya._ I crept through the healers' ward, finally finding Kya's room. She lay still, unconscious, but from what I didn't know.

I scanned the room, noticing the asleep figures of Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

I smiled tiredly, collapsed on the bed, and slept.

~_ Kya Ranor_ ~  
I felt myself return to the physical world, and sat upright slowly. I glanced down, curious at the warm weight next to me.

I felt a smile crease my face at the sight.

_Anakin._

I yawned, tired beyond belief despite the fact that I had slept for Force knew how long already. _Force. Those visions took more out of me than I thought. Time to sleep. _

I reached out with the Force to nudge Anakin deeper into slumber, and noticed that Obi-Wan and Master Jinn were also asleep in nearby chairs.

A brief touch of their minds showed them to have been overwhelmed into sleep by plain tiredness and excitement.

I frowned as I skirted the edges of their auras. _What could have made them so excited?_ I closed my eyes, finding that it helped my concentration. But I couldn't determine anything more; their minds were shielded as well.

The next thing I knew, I found myself too sleepy to continue, and I sank down to the bed, curling a protective arm around Anakin.

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
I slowly added more pressure to the sleep-suggestion I was inflicting on the Padawan. She was already tired, and it had taken all my will not to leap up when I had felt her awaken and begin to search her room.

I opened my eyes, smiling slightly as the Padawan gave up struggling against the suggestion and returned to sleeping.

I was surprised, however, to see the girl curl a protective arm around Anakin as she began to drift off, a move that reminded me of something a parent would do to a child. But I was also pleased as she did so. Apparently, she was aware of the fact that in the Jedi Order, everyone was related, a parent and a child. It showed a gentler side of the girl, one that was protective and loving toward others.

A frown crossed my face as I looked at her.

My Padawan was certain, I could sense, that the girl was ready for Knighthood. He looked at her and saw her deadly skill, her powerful abilities, her seamless connection and he saw a Knight. He saw a Padawan who was no longer a Padawan, one even better that he was.

I was not so optimistic. I had passed the Trials, and I knew what to look for in a Knight.

And there were several things the girl lacked.

The girl's control was . . . well, it could be worked on. She had lost control – what was it? – three times now. Once, in the duel; second, on the landing platform; and now this.

Her power was immense and awe-inspiring – but the key to power for the Jedi was not its immensity, but rather the knowledge of when to use it. Kya didn't seem to have that knowledge; or if she did, she didn't seem to have the experience to know when to call upon it.

And her ability to argue and speak the truth without revealing all? Yes, it was good. But it was also not backed by experience. Experience and practice made a Knight, not power.

I reached out and examined the edges of her mind again, making sure she was actually asleep and would not rise.

I rose silently. Stepping out of the room, I called Mace and Yoda. Mace arrived shortly afterward with Yoda not far behind. It was late at night, but the Masters seemed alert as always – perhaps even more so, now with such a mystery on our hands.

"Asleep for real, she is?" asked Master Yoda.

I nodded, sinking into a comfortable chair. Mace and Yoda copied me.

Mace leaned forward, interest gleaming in his dark brown eyes. "What have you noticed about her?" he asked.

"My apprentice told me many things about her," I said neutrally. "But first and foremost the fact that she is well schooled in almost every form of lightsaber combat. Her style heavily favors Soresu and Ataru, but I also saw some things in her style that only come from Makashi and Djem So."

Yoda frowned thoughtfully. "Relatively unpracticed in apprenticeship, Makashi is," he said.

I nodded. Very few Jedi studied Makashi anymore, as Jedi rarely needed actually duel with lightsabers nowadays. Deflection of blasters and laserbeams had taken precedence over real lightsaber duels, because there was no one anymore to challenge the Jedi with lightsabers in hand. My former Master, Master Dooku, was one of the only Jedi in existence who studied Makashi.

I continued, "I believe that the only forms that she is still learning are Makashi – apparently her teacher never finished her instruction, for some reason – and Vaapad. She said that Master Windu was still instructing her in Vaapad."

Mace sat back in shock. "When did she begin learning Vaapad?" he asked in disbelief. "I would never train an apprentice so young. That form is _dangerou_s."

"It's better to know more than to know less," came a sleepy voice. I turned, and heard Mace curse under his breath. There, leaning against the door, was the very Padawan we were discussing.


	11. Chapter 9

**_Chapter Nine_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
Kya sank into a chair, facing all three of us. Then she answered Mace's question.

"Master Windu began instructing me because when I was thirteen, I was forced to face off against a Sith apprentice who was considered a master in Ataru and Makashi," she explained. I was already very good in Soresu, but being so young made me too inexperienced to succeed, and another Knight was forced to rescue me."

I found myself staring at the girl in horror. Captured by a Sith apprentice?

"What – Why would he capture you?" I finally asked. She turned to me, her sapphire eyes gleaming.

"For two reasons," she answered mildly, as if it meant nothing to her. However, I could sense the turmoil in her mind, as if she were debating whether or not to tell us. The turmoil was reflected in her eyes, but after a moment she apparently decided it wouldn't hurt to reveal everything.

"Firstly and foremost, as you have no doubt realized, my midicholrian count is abnormally high. The Sith thought that I would make a useful weapon if I could be turned and used as an assassin against the Jedi."

The girl's eyes darkened slightly, and I shifted as I sensed her anger at that sentence.

_She refused to turn_, I realized with a sinking heart. _She loved someone too much for that. Someone held her back in the light. _

_And she paid for that._

"Secondly, the Sith knew that my Master would agree to his demands should I be threatened. That posed a risk of my Master falling to the dark side. As a Jedi Master, my Master would make a valuable ally to the Sith. So the Council organized a rescue, and another Knight got me out as soon as he could. Unfortunately, he was unable to detain the Sith apprentice because I was too heavily . . . I was out of commission for the moment."

"What kind of punishment would they use?" Mace asked, drawing the girl's attention.

My mind pondered what she had said – "too heavily . . . out of commission."

That could only mean one thing – she had been pushed beyond her limit and had not been able to defend herself any longer.

In other words, she had been on the verge of death.

I swallowed, my throat clenching. If anything like that had ever happened to my apprentice, I had found myself going after him without hesitation. Nothing would have stopped me and there was nowhere I would not have searched. _I wouldn't blame her Master for agreeing to any demands if the girl was threatened; I would have too._ I would not have given into the dark side, but I would have been furious.

The girl tilted her head slightly, her sapphire eyes darkening even more. "He tried to tamper with my memories. He decided that it was my only weakness. So he forced his way into my mind and used my darkest memories against me, trying to drown me into them. His goal was to tamper them to the degree that I would be terrified of and furious at my own Master, and thus attack any Jedi sent to rescue me."

She gave a small and forced smile, winding a finger around her Padawan braid. "I found that it was surprisingly easy to ignore his attempts. I simply used any anger I accumulated from his tampering to practice my lightsaber skills. When he realized that he was doing no damage to me, he turned to torture, hoping to break me before the Jedi could figure out my message."

"Message?"

"Ventress and Grievous underestimated me. Ventress is an apprentice to the Sith, and Grievous is a droid general who heads the Separatists' armies," she explained hastily, trying to divert any questions. "During a message to the Council, they demanded several things of the Jedi, and then proceeded to demonstrate the treatment any captured Jedi would receive from the Separatists and the Sith. Their intention was to force me to urge the Council for a rescue. I refused to do so, instead speaking in codes that told the Council where I was being held while warning them to take the appearance of refusing to send any and all aid. I would not drag down the whole Order by having them chase after me. There was a war going on, and we all knew that the Council would choose to use any free teams to hold our worlds, not rescue a wayward apprentice."

I sat back in shock. Since when would the Council refuse to rescue a Jedi in danger, especially a young apprentice barely into her teenage years?

"Since a war started," the girl said sharply, turning to me, answering my unspoken question. "The world which I come from is more dangerous than yours, Master Jinn. Think of it this way. Your apprentice is being tortured by a Sith apprentice determined to break him or her, yet you know that if you go after him or her, a whole system will fall under the command of the Separatists, who are controlled by the Sith. So the choice becomes to either rescue your apprentice or save a whole system. Who would you choose?"

"The Council would send a team to save the world, and a team to save the apprentice," Master Windu answered, but even he looked doubtful.

The girl shook her head with a sigh. "You are aware that it would be impossible, right? We lost nearly two hundred Jedi at the opening battle, and then the remaining were spread over the small amount of worlds the Republic still held."

She sighed as my shock rose once again. _Two_ hundred_ Jedi? How did so many Jedi be killed all at once? We can be overwhelmed by sheer numbers, but . . . by the Force, how large of an army would it take to overwhelm _two hundred_ of us?_

"So, because of this, many Masters and apprentices lost each other as the Jedi were forced to choose between the masses of civilians or their brothers and sisters," Kya finished sadly. A tear glittered in her eye, and I wondered who _she_ had lost to become like this.

The girl's head snapped up suddenly, and in the next moment, her lightsaber was ignited and she was on her feet, all traces of weariness gone.

There, a short distance away, stood Master Dooku, looking warily on this Padawan who'd drawn a lightsaber upon sensing him.


	12. Chapter 10

**_Chapter Ten_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
"Dooku," I breathed. For the first time since I'd arrived on Coruscant, a slight fear blossomed within me.

Dooku's very _face_ haunted me. I could remember how much anger I'd seen and sensed, and how much pain he'd caused both me and my Master. True, it had been another Sith apprentice/associate that had caused me the pain, but he'd ordered it, watched it, _approved_ of it.

Unbidden, sour bile rose in my throat as the memory of what Dooku had done came back to me.

_Pain. Unbending pain. So much anger, everywhere inside. And yet, at the same time, nowhere. Some part of me struggling to cast off the anger. Another part fighting to keep it._

_Someone entered. I struggled to my feet, gripping my lightsaber tightly. I had had enough of this. If it was Dooku – or _him_ – again, I was going kill him or die trying._

"_Kya," the man said, his voice cracking. He reached out for me, but I ignited my lightsaber, swinging viciously at him._

_To find that his lightsaber was blue as he blocked my own blue blade._

_I dropped my lightsaber in shock as the other deactivated his as well. _

_The next thing I knew, the man was holding my tightly. Then, slowly and tentatively, I opened the bond on my end. _

_I found my Master, gripping my tightly while pouring everything he had into our bond. A gentle hand pulled up my chin. _

"_Kya," my Master said again, "what _happened_ to you?"_

Master Windu cleared his throat somewhere behind me, and I came back to reality with a jolt.

This was Dooku before he had become a Sith. He did not pose any threat to me, not now. He was still a Jedi, like me.

I deactivated my lightsaber, and bowed to Master Dooku, murmuring, "Master Dooku."

But even as I returned to my seat, I couldn't keep the wariness from tainting my features. Dooku had done too much damage to me, to my Master, and to the Order for me to forget that and relax so quickly. Perhaps my Master could have, but he wasn't here.

Master Dooku swept by without a glance, and I allowed myself to try and relax.

I shook my head slightly, and muttered, "I keep forgetting that some things haven't happened that. I should have more control than this, to be jumping around like a three-year-old Initiate just starting out. Master Kenobi's going to have a – "

"Master Kenobi?" interrupted Master Yoda.

I flinched when I realized I had talked aloud. _Oops. It's a good thing Lady Elizabeth didn't say that I couldn't say anything about my time, because I would have broken that rule about six times now._

Then I looked up, calm returning to my features as I stiffened my shields and regained control of my emotions. "Yes. Remember – Master Jinn surely must have told you – when I first arrived, I said that Master Jinn had died thirteen years ago? Well, in my world, we apparently are thirteen years ahead of this world. Your Padawan, Master Jinn, is now a Jedi Master on the Jedi Council, a master of Soresu, and a General in the Clone Wars. He has been nicknamed 'the Negotiator' for his talent of negotiating treaties for many of our battles before they are fought."

A gentle smile caressed my face unintentionally as I pictured my Master. _Solid and unyielding as rock, yet just as caring as any father or Master in the Order._ He meant the world to me, and in many ways, he _was_ my whole world.

"Anakin Skywalker is now a Jedi Knight, a deadly practitioner of Djem So, and is called 'the Hero With No Fear' for the all the messes he's either charged into or created."

"Indeed?" Master Jinn asked, one eyebrow raised. But there was amusement in his tone and eyes, an amusement I could share to some degree.

I snorted as I tried to make a count of how many messes Jedi Skywalker had created and/or landed in.

_But to tell the truth_, I reflected, _Skywalker uses creates _and_ lands in a mess, leaving us to get him out, give him back his lightsaber, and then also clean up his mess._ Successful Jedi he might be, but a messy one.

"I think that he nearly managed to give Master Kenobi a heart attack the last time we let him crash land," I answered instead, not giving away details.

I sighed as grief threatened to overwhelm me. Faces flashed before me – all of the Jedi I had seen or heard of dying in the bloody Clone Wars that only seemed to drag on more and more.

"And many of the Jedi that I have seen here are dead. Master Dooku was recently killed by Darth Tyranus at the order of Darth Sidious. Master Gallia was strangled while fighting Grievous, who's a rather nasty fellow – uh, droid – who can fight in Form II with four lightsabers. Master Windu didn't exactly manage to get there on time to save her, but he did manage to give Grievous asthma, so I'm not complaining. That is, before he got himself knocked in the head by Tyranus, and then we had to go save his butt too."

I glared good-naturedly at Master Windu as the memory of one of only times in this war I'd ever seen Master Windu unsettled floated back to me.

"That was the worst rescue mission I've ever been on. Why can't you and Skywalker get along when it comes to landing the blasted ship? You better not pull that stunt here, Master Windu, because if you do, Master Kenobi can go and rescue you. I, for one, am staying here, because I don't feel the need to get myself thrown all over the ship while Skywalker's piloting it."

Master Yoda chuckled softly as Master Windu stared at me.

"Rarely do Padawans speak so bluntly here," Master Jinn put in softly.

I raised an eyebrow, shrugging slightly. "Well, when you've fought alongside them – or more like cleaning up after them, when it comes to Skywalker – you eventually loose the formality. Anyway, Master Windu always paid me back whenever I dueled with him, or he would have Master Kenobi do it. It never worked too well, though, because the next day would find me out on the field serving with them again."

"What master have you?" Master Yoda asked.

I froze. _Blast. I can't lie, but I can't tell them. Why is it always me or Skywalker ending up like this, caught in between?_ "That is something . . . that I apparently cannot tell you. But rest assured, he's a good Master."

"Then why did he let you abandon the common formalities of the ranks of the Order, or let you sustain so many wounds without treatment, or let you receive instruction in Vaapad?" demanded Master Windu.

I stiffened slightly, and my hand gripped my lightsaber hilt tightly. "Watch your words, Master Windu," I said softly, my tone laced with ice and warning.

I did not fear Master Windu in the slightest. I was willing to face down any Jedi who accused my Master of wrongdoing, and while I was careful not to be arrogant, my Master meant the world to me, and I would not have a younger and inexperienced Master insult him.

"You forget – it was you who suggested that I begin training in Vaapad. It took a long time before you managed to convince my Master. Secondly, it was also you who suggested I drop the formalities on the battlefield. It takes too long to say the full title when you're trying to orchestrate a full battle with Jedi lives at stake. As for the wounds, well, I haven't returned to the Temple in almost six months. I have been on mission after mission ever since the war began, whether it's a solo mission or with my Master."

I stood suddenly, and blue fire burned in my sapphire eyes. "Also don't forget this – in my world, we are thirteen years ahead of you. That is thirteen more years that you honed your talent as Masters Yoda and Kenobi did when they instructed me. And I learned _after_ those thirteen years. In this world, my skill with the blade surpasses your own, and my connection to the Force does as well. Trust me, if I have to single-handedly drag you until you and the other Jedi come to your senses about the Sith, I will."

I turned away from them, not bothering to hide my anger. "Good night, Masters," I said, resolutely turning back to my room.

"Wait."

Master Jinn's voice was a command, but I froze, an icy feeling stealing across me. He sounded so much like my own Master that I had actually turned before I realized.

I saw surprise steal across his features at the fact that I had actually obeyed before he said gently, "Where did that bracelet come from, Padawan Ranor?"

I looked down at my wrist, surprised. _Hmmm. I thought that only I would be able to see it. But now I have to explain, blast it. And to make it worse, he sounds almost exactly like Obi-Wan._

I groaned mentally, and was very surprised when Master Jinn said, "You know, Padawan, we are not here to interrogate you. If there are secrets you wish to keep, you are welcome to keep them. But only if they do not endanger those of our Order."

_Pity, then, that the secrets I hold contain the secrets that could either destroy or rebuild our Order_, I thought sourly.

"What proof are you seeking?" I asked tiredly, knowing exactly what he was asking and not the least bit surprised. "No, wait, I've got a better idea."

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn _~  
The girl turned away smoothly and led the way to a training salle.

"Well, one thing's for sure," I heard her muse as she looked around, "these rooms are a lot cleaner than ours."

"What?" I heard Mace ask.

The girl shook her head in dismissal, and murmured, "Forget it." Then she turned to face all three of us, her face calm.

"Now. You want proof of my claim? Then it is proof you shall receive."

The girl ignited her lightsaber, slipping into a Makashi ready stance. "Master Windu," she said, her voice formal and clipped. "I'll show you what I know."

Mace looked completely startled, and the Force reverberated with his shock. I raised an eyebrow at him, but Yoda gave a slight nod, and Mace ignited his own.

"Hmmm . . . Even your lightsaber's different," she commented, her tone slightly exasperated. Mace frowned at her, but she merely laughed.

Then they dueled.

I held my breath unconsciously as I watched the two duel. To my deep surprise, the girl was able to hold her own against Mace, and some times even managed to press the offensive against him. He struck suddenly, his eyes narrowed his concentration and the Force swirling around him, but she merely shifted her balance and parried.

I heard her sigh slightly as Mace backed off and said quietly, "I see no indication of Vaapad in your style, Padawan Ranor."

She cocked her head to the side, an amused smile playing on her lips. "Very well, then," she replied absently, closing her eyes.

In the next moment, she was charging at a startled Mace, spinning her blade in a deadly dance. I picked out moves from all the forms of lightsaber combat – Shii-Cho, Makashi, Soresu, Ataru, Djem So, Niman, and, most especially, Vaapad.

I felt the Force swirl around the girl again, giving her some kind of energy reserve that she had managed to acquire suddenly. Then a familiar feeling returned to me. I couldn't believe it. It was remarkably similar to the feeling of weariness I'd felt during the duel between Obi-Wan and Kya. I stiffened as I saw Mace falter, no doubt feeling the same thing. Even Yoda straightened slightly, his eyes flickering to me.

With a last, dismissive strike, Kya Ranor knocked the lightsaber out of Mace's hands.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I was breathing hard, and I could feel sweat forming on my forehead. I wiped it off quickly, and turned to Masters Yoda and Jinn. I could feel their surprise echoing in the Force, but more importantly, their sudden tiredness.

I cursed under my breath. _Blast! I did it _again_!_ I scowled, and immediately stopped the flow of the Force to me, earning myself a confused look from Master Jinn and a startled look from Master Windu, who, by then, had picked himself and his lightsaber up and was standing with the other Masters.

Master Jinn regarded me warily, and I couldn't blame him – he probably had recognized the feeling from my earlier duel with Obi-Wan.

"I apologize for that, Masters," I said quietly, replacing my deactivated lightsaber onto my belt.

"For what?" asked Master Windu bluntly. "You were taught well, apprentice." He favored me with a slight smile. "Very well indeed. Who instructed you in the forms of lightsaber combat?"

I cocked my head unconsciously, thinking. Finally, I said, "Well, Master Kenobi taught me Soresu; Master Yoda taught me Ataru; Master Dooku began my instruction in Makashi, but he was unable to finish; Jedi Skywalker taught me Djem So; I was taught Shii-Cho and Niman by my crèche instructors; and Master Windu picked up with Vaapad where Master Billaba left off."

"Why did she leave off teaching you?" Master Windu asked, one eyebrow raised, beating Master Jinn to the question.

I turned my attention to Master Windu, wondering why Master Jinn hadn't asked me about Dooku not finishing my teaching. I knew that my Master had lamented more than once that Master Jinn hadn't survived the Naboo War, for he had been the last apprentice to Dooku and could have given us insight of Dooku's behavior.

"Her skill may have been superior to yours, Master Windu," I said gently, "but she never woke up after her collapse during the mission to Haruun Kal. Let's see, what was that mission?" I mused quietly. _Blast, I should know this._ "Oh, yes, the Summertime War."

Master Windu looked stunned. I could feel his surprise and concern radiating in the Force. "And the healers could not wake her?" Master Jinn interjected.

I shook my head. "No." I frowned thoughtfully, trying to remember what Obi-Wan had said about Depa's collapse. "My Master said that something happened on Haruun Kal, something that was no benefit to us. It showed us how much the war was hurting the Jedi who remembered peace from before the war. As Master Billaba put it, 'To fight the war, we must abandon the very thing that makes us Jedi.'"

I turned my gaze on Master Windu, and said, "Don't worry about what she said, though. She was trying to make you reconsider your actions on Geonosis."

"What actions?" The question came out sharper than I was sure he had intended it to be, and I was tiring of answering questions.

"You had a choice to make on Geonosis – either to rescue Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Senator Amidala from being executed or drag Tyranus down into death with you. You made the Jedi choice, and rescued the captives. But we all paid the price for the Jedi choice – the war. And you were having major second thoughts. You were considering what would have happened had you acted like the general you had become, and used the evidence of the shatterpoint. But what Depa did _not_ say is that . . . well, had you made the choice of the general you had become, yours would not be the only tragedy."

I sighed. "And that is the thing that is tearing the Jedi apart. It's knowing that every decision we make, whether it helps the Republic or not, is causing innocents to die, and it may well be for nothing, especially since the Council recently managed to trace Darth Sidious to the Chancellor's inner circle."

Silence followed my remarks. Finally, Master Jinn stirred. "You have endured much, young one."

I laughed bitterly, waving aside the silent respect I sensed from him. "I don't feel so young anymore, Master Jinn. None of us do. The Force is so clouded, even in the Temple; almost no one can remember what it was like now. Here, it's clear and pure, open to all. But where I come from – it's clouded, so shrouded in a darkness not even the Council can see through."

"You should go back to sleep," Master Jinn said, and I felt some pressure from a sleep-suggestion.

My eyes narrowed when I sensed it. So, they still thought me a mere child who was so easily deceived by gentle words and a sleep-suggestion from the Force? Clearly, they underestimated me.

_Well, it is time to show them what I can do_, I thought.

I allowed the Force to flow through me, feeling pure joy at its clarity, which I hadn't sensed since I was barely a child . . . and began to channel his energy into me.


	13. Chapter 11

Well, for everyone who said that the suspense was "killing them", here's the next chapter.

* * *

_**Chapter Eleven**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~

I felt my respect for the girl increase as she spoke. Her eyes were clear and focused, and she clearly knew of what she was speaking. She offered just enough information for us to stay with her, but not too much – she obviously still did not trust us.

I studied her, allowing the Force to deepen my senses. The Force swirled around her, as if she was the calm in the eye of a storm, yet at the same time, a titanic battle raged in that calm. She, like Anakin, practically glowed with the Force, yet she had much more control over it from her Jedi training.

As my respect for her increased, so did my respect for her Master. _He or she must have trained her well_, I mused as she resisted my gentle sleep-suggestion for the second time that night. I heard Mace sigh next to me, and felt him join me in pressuring the girl to go to sleep.

I saw her eyes narrow slightly, and she tensed. The next moment, the Force seemed to shift around her, and suddenly I felt – once again – drained and tired.

Now it was my turn for my eyes to narrow. It was not a sleep-suggestion; I could tell that much by studying it. The intent was just to simply drain me of energy, not to pressure me to sleep. _What is she doing?_

Mace had stiffened beside me, and I could tell that he too was now experiencing this sudden exhaustion. The girl's attention had withdrawn from the outside world, although her eyes were open. But they were empty, an indication that she was definitely the one inflicting this strange exhaustion upon us. Another indication was the fact that the Force was now really swirling around her, as much an ally as a foe.

Finally, it appeared that Yoda had had enough of it. "Stop this contest, you _must_." His tone brooked no argument, and Mace and I immediately ceased with our sleep-suggestions. The girl shook herself, and suddenly shivered.

"What I just did," she said quietly, without the need for explanation, "is another reason why I was apprenticed so young, and taught by so many powerful members of our Order. Master Yoda knew, when he first taught me, that I would require special attention in order to learn control of my gift. It is also why my skills are coveted by the Sith."

She stretched out a hand, and I felt energy flowing back into me, relaxing and warming my stiffened muscles. Mace relaxed as well, and his hand unclenched from his lightsaber hilt.

She sighed suddenly, and murmured softly, "It costs as much to give as it does to take."

"What?" I didn't fully understand what she said, and it appeared that Mace wasn't having better luck with it than I was.

"When I take energy from someone like I did with you, Master Windu, and – " she winced here, guilt playing across her features " – Obi-Wan, it costs me energy as well. So in effect I draw more and more, trying to sate both my need and my desire. I was horrified at my lack of control – and I thank you for stopping me, Master Jinn – because I've found that if I allow it to continue too long, I accidentally start drawing upon the victim's life source itself. Which means, in effect, I'm taking away years from their life span."

"So your ability is like Battle Mediation, in a way?" asked Mace, his curiosity aroused. She nodded, and added, "And my ability is mainly why I have such a high midi-chlorian count."

She smiled faintly. "Your excitement over my high count is useless, you know. Anakin is the Chosen One; I am merely someone who will try my best to assist him in bringing balance. But my talents have its uses. Whenever I am threatened, with the Force or with a lightsaber, my reaction is to drain the energy reserves of my opponents, which usually helps me defeat them. It doesn't matter what shields you put up in the way, because I am draining your energy from you, which means you can't block me, no matter what. Well, short of death, I mean."

"Can this ability be taught?" I asked. She shrugged, her exhaustion preventing her from being too eloquent at this stage in her night cycle.

"I've never tried."

"Never done, mean you," Yoda interrupted. "No try there is, Padawan."

She bowed. "Yes, Master." She took the reprimand with the grace of a Knight, and I chose at that moment to make my point.

"Apprentice, you really should get some sleep," I said gently, not bothering to try another sleep-suggestion, knowing that it wouldn't work.

She laughed, and this time her laughter wasn't bitter at all. "You rubbed off on my Master way too much, Master Jinn; it's almost creepy, the likeliness between you two. Good night, Masters."

She bowed, and this time respect followed, not tradition. I watched her silently as she made her way to the door, departing for the healers' ward.

And then collapsed.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~

I made my way silently toward my Master, who was, at the moment, doing a very good job shielding himself from me.

_Great_, I thought as I reached yet another dead end. _This makes the third time. What _is_ Qui-Gon trying to hide from me?_

I had woken up suddenly, feeling as though someone was draining me slowly. I had then noticed, with my cursory examination of the room, that besides Anakin, I was alone. The blankets were tucked neatly and lovingly around Anakin, so I knew that Kya had gotten up of her own will and free time. All my Master's things were gone, so he too had gotten up of his own will and free time. And then by examining the Force-signatures left behind, I had determined that Kya and my Master were most likely together.

Finally, I managed to track them both down properly. I walked through the doorway of the training salle . . .

. . . and barely managed to keep from tumbling over as Kya fell into my arms. It was pure instinct, although from where I didn't know, that had had me open my arms, catch her, and then kneel, with a fluid grace that made me blink at myself. _Where did _that_ come from?_

I looked up, then, to see not only my Master, but also Masters Yoda and Windu standing there. Or rather, kneeling down, for in the few seconds it had taken me to catch and hold Kya, all three Jedi Masters had crossed the distance between us.

My Master knelt by my side, and reached out to touch Kya's forehead. She shifted away from him with a slight moan, and he immediately stopped.

I felt his frown, but it was Master Windu who gave voice to it. "It's . . . It's like she doesn't trust you," I heard him say.

Master Windu joined us, and he too reached out. Kya didn't shift away, but the Force coiled around her like armor, and, with a sigh, he backed away.

"It's like she can feel our signatures in the Force," my Master said finally. "And she doesn't trust us."

"Well, she _did_ say that she was part of a war," I offered, glancing up to meet my Master's eyes. "Maybe the war took away her trust of others. Here, I'll try."

And before they could stop me, I reached for Kya.

To my deep surprise, and the surprise of everyone around me, Kya didn't resist my touch, but actually seemed to _welcome_ it, to _want_ it. She unconsciously pressed against the hand that I rested on her forehead, seeming to take comfort from it. I could sense her body – and the Force – relax around her.

I glanced up again to see all three Masters exchanging confused glances.

"Bring her back to the healers' ward, Padawan," my Master said quietly. I felt his mind brush against my own, and felt his silent encouragement of the command.

I nodded my assent, and lifted Kya silently. To my faint surprise, she did not weigh too much, even though, from the halo of Force circling around her, you'd expect her to be as heavy as a speeder.

As I stepped back into the room, Anakin awoke. "Hey, where's . . . " His question trailed off as he saw the sleeping Kya in my arms.

"What happened to her?" The boy's tone was pure concern, and I suppressed a smile. _Just like Qui-Gon. You _both_ inspire loyalty in others so quickly._

"Nothing. She's just very, very tired," I answered, laying her down carefully. "And you should lie down on that cot and get some sleep," I added. I could feel a strange attachment binding me to both Anakin and Kya, and I was sure that it was not because I liked their company.

Anakin yawned, and did as I said, too tired to protest. I turned my attention back to Kya. She lay motionless on the bed, yet the Force still roiled around her.

I reached out with the Force, and jolted with surprise as I brushed against her mind. A memory that definitely was not mine rushed into me.

_I stood in a large room that was presumably a strategy room, from all the devices scattered around. Two men were fighting. One wielded a blood red blade; the other, a blade the color of a summer sky._

_With an elegant flick of both hand and lightsaber, the man with the red blade – most likely a Sith – disarmed the other – a Jedi, I suspected – and sent him flying into a wall._

_The Sith bent over the Jedi, but was stopped by a cry from the doorway._

"_Master!" _

_I stared. The girl was Kya; younger, yes, but still Kya. The Force radiated from her, uncontrolled and angry._

_The red lightsaber ignited, illuminating the Jedi's neck while casting the rest in shadow. "Move, apprentice, and your Master looses his head."_

"_No!" Kya slid to a stop, a desperate look on her face. _

"_Good." The Sith smiled at her. "Now, the lightsaber."_

_Kya seemed to struggle against it, but then dropped her lightsaber. A shadow flickered to her left, and in the next moment, droids held Kya. Her wrists were bound tightly by binders, and two people stepped up to grasp her arms tightly._

_The Sith rose, and his cloak swirled behind him as he walked up to Kya. She met his gaze fearlessly, hate shining in her blue eyes. He reached out, tilting her chin so that she was forced to acknowledge that she had to look up to him._

"_As the Padawan of my Padawan's Padawan, you won't be harmed . . . too much." The Sith stepped away, releasing Kya's chin. "Bring her aboard."_

"_And the Jedi, sir?"_

_The Sith didn't even look behind him. "Worthless. Leave him."_

_Then the Jedi stirred, and his eyes flashed open to see the scene in front of him. He lurched to his feet, summoning and activating his lightsaber._

"_Kya!" he shouted, leaping toward them._

_The Sith whirled, and in a flash had his blade resting under Kya's throat._

"_Surrender, Jedi, or leave," the Sith said quietly. "I've no interest in dueling with you again, however amusing it is. I've got what I want – your apprentice. Though I wouldn't object to having you as well, General."_

_The Jedi's eyes became fixed upon Kya's. _Leave, Master, please leave_, came Kya's roiling thought. _Please, leave me; get out of here!

_The Jedi shook his head sadly, but before his apprentice could protest more, he dropped his lightsaber in the gesture of surrender._

_The droids immediately snatched his, and then released Kya, pushing her toward the Jedi. He grabbed her before she could fall, holding her in a tight embrace._

"_You should have left," she hissed at him, anguish clear in her tone._

_His embrace tightened. "I couldn't leave you to deal with him alone, Padawan," he replied, his affection for her clear in his tone._

_She pulled away from him. "I won't see them kill you the way they did to my first Master," she said, her tone quiet and deadly. Then she shoved at her Master with a Force-suggestion that had even me reeling, and I wasn't even really present._

_The Jedi stumbled backward, shock and obedience warring in his expression. He was desperately trying to fight off Kya's command as she poured her power in it. But the Jedi was her Master, and from the way he handled things, a Jedi Master in full command of himself. He wasn't so easily swayed._

_And it didn't help that Kya's fear and desperation rang through the Force. It gave Kya motivation, but it also silenced her connection to the Force. Finally she stopped, sweat shining on her forehead and exhaustion permeating her Force-signature._

_The Jedi stepped back to her, and held her again as tears began to brim in her eyes. "Kya, child, please don't do that again," he said, concern showing in his tone. "You will need your strength."_

_He cut off her protests. "You're still a child, and also my Padawan." The Jedi's voice strengthened, taking on a tone I recognized my own Master used. "It's the Master's duty to _protect_ the apprentice, not abandon them at the first sign of danger."_

"_The Jedi _need_ you for the war, Master," she said. "They need Skywalker _and_ you if they're to win. You can't help them here, stuck in a cell with Ventress and Grievous and who knows who else breathing down your neck!"_

_The Jedi laughed softly. "I wouldn't do them any good now, Padawan, if I had left. You know my personality, Kya. Do you really think I would even be able to meditate peacefully, much less serve, if I had left and known that if you showed up dead a month later it was my fault, because I had had the chance to save you?"_

"_And do think _I_ will sleep peacefully either, if we lose the war and it's because you _stayed_ and got _killed_?" she retorted, but the heat had gone out of her tone. _

I sympathized with Kya. My Master was similar to hers, because when Qui-Gon set his mind on something, he didn't let anything sway it. I moved closer. I wanted a glimpse at Kya's Master. But apparently when I moved, Kya became aware of my presence in her memories.

And she certainly was not happy about it.

* * *

To my readers: Anyone who does not understand or has questions about Kya's gift, review or PM me and I will get back to you.


	14. Chapter 12

_**Chapter Twelve**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~

I jerked upright when someone brushed against my mind, but a memory assaulted me, distracting me. I was painfully aware that the intruder would see the memory as well, and at once concealed my Master's and Dooku's face from view.

After that was done, I was even more exhausted. _What did Mace call it again? Oh, yes, a shatterpoint_, I thought vaguely. _I think I'm reaching mine._

But then the intruder moved, and I was able to pinpoint his exact location and immediately threw him out of my mind. I turned, ready to deliver a scathing question, but stopped when I saw who it was.

Obi-Wan_? What was he doing in my mind?_

But I didn't get a chance to ask, for he was breathing hard as though he'd just gone through a duel with every Jedi on the Council.

"Sorry about that, Kya," he offered when he had recovered. I sighed, and looked around. _Anakin? Oh._ I smiled, and ruffled the boy's hair before pulling up his blanket.

"You care for him a great deal," Obi-Wan said quietly. I raised an eyebrow at him. _He's a child. Who wouldn't?_

But instead I said, "Why did you touch my mind?"

~_ Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~

I watched Kya look at me suspiciously. I really couldn't blame her; I too would be nervous had someone touched my mind and accessed my memories. Yet I felt an urge to help her, to protect her. What was more, Kya was a fellow apprentice; I would be easier for her to confide in then the Council.

I reached forward and rested my hand on hers. She started, but did not move her hand. "Kya," I said gently, "I'm sorry for the intrusion. But not if it will help healing. What happened to your first Master?"

This time she did remove her hand. "You _heard_?" she gasped. "But – But I was – "

I smiled gently, and she stiffened, shrinking away from me. "How much did you hear?" she whispered, fear flickering in her sapphire eyes. Shock plunged through my system; I had not intended to make her fear me.

"Enough. I heard enough." I shifted, and reached a hand toward her. "Kya, please, just let me help you."

She relaxed, and allowed me to sit on the bed next to her. I faced her silently for a moment before placing my hand on hers.

Finally, Kya said, "My first Master took me as an apprentice when I was eleven. Yes, I was young, but my midi-chlorian count was high and I was well ahead of my age mates in lightsaber combat, Force training and use, and negotiation. My first mission was actually . . . "

Slowly, I coaxed the story out of her. She was hesitant, but Kya seemed to trust me. As apprentices, we were able to relate to each other, laughing and grumbling over things that we had found common in each other's Master.

_She has a beautiful smile_, I thought as she laughed, clutching her stomach, over an experience that I had had with Qui-Gon. Her eyes were sparkling even as she tried to hold back her laughter. "It was _not_ funny!" I exclaimed, still slightly embarrassed by the memory, but it only made her laugh harder.

But when we got closer to the topic of her Master's death, the sparkle in her eyes faded and her words came less quickly and far less eloquent.

"They tortured him," she said bluntly, but I could sense her anguish over it, even though the wound had long been healed over. "It was an experiment. To see how long a Jedi could resist brainwashing and torture without the Force. But my Master did not know that I was forced to watch. Some of the things that they did. . . "

Kya trailed off, shivering slightly. Eventually, I came to understand that her Master had been used thusly to try and turn Kya to the dark side. Grief and sorrow – plus the fact that she felt responsible for it, although I assured her otherwise – were powerful factors that could easily turn one's allegiance from light to dark.

I spent a good amount of time comforting Kya, and firmly making her realize that what had happened to her Master was _not_ her fault in any way. Eventually, she came around, and I sensed a lot of her inner turmoil quiet.

It was there that we stopped. Kya was too exhausted, both emotionally and physically, to go on further, and even I was beginning to tire. It _was_ in the middle of our sleep cycles, anyway. So I let Kya go back to sleep, and pulled the blankets around her.

I let my hand stroke Kya's hair. She stirred, responding to my touch, and I said quietly, "You should sleep, Kya. You've gone beyond death and come back ten times over. Ten times more than you should've."

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~

I swept back into the healers' ward as the sun rose. Mace, Yoda, and I had all agreed that we should conceal what we had learned about Kya.

We had stayed up for most of the night speaking about her. I had expressed my theory that Mace might have been Kya's Master, but that was shot down, because she had not slipped and called him 'Master'. There was also the fact that Kya's style favored not Vaapad, as an apprentice to Mace would have, but Soresu and Ataru. This guided us to believe that Kya's Master may have been someone who was originally trained in Ataru, but for some unknown reason then switched to Soresu.

Unfortunately, no Jedi in the whole Order fit the description that we had pulled together. I was surprised, but it was true – no Jedi ever had switched styles like while also raising a first apprentice to Knighthood, finding the second apprentice and taking her on, and at the same time being granted the rank of Master _and_ being appointed a seat on the Jedi Council.

The only conclusion we would reach was that Kya's Master most likely was not that far yet, and that he would emerge – or Kya would tell us – when the right time came.

The sight that greeted my eyes as I went into Kya's room was enough to stop me dead in my tracks.

Anakin was lying on a cot next to Kya's bed, murmuring quietly in his sleep. I was surprised to find him there, but it was not that scene that had me stunned.

Kya was sleeping, her eyes closed and her face untroubled. She looked . . . just like her proper age, perhaps even younger.

In fact, she looked _vulnerable_.

My apprentice was sprawled in a chair nearby, his expression peaceful. Both of the apprentices seemed to have found peace . . . together, and that worried me.

I closed my eyes and stretched out into the Force to sense the echoes of what had happened last night. I sensed strong emotions, but nothing that suggested an attraction. Simply friendship.

I blew out a relieved breath I hadn't even known I was holding. From what I sensed, Kya had opened up and confided in Obi-Wan. I was surprised that my apprentice had done so, as he usually was coolly polite to strangers, but I was also happy that he had managed to reach out to Kya. We needed Kya to help us, but to help us she had to overcome the guilt she harbored over the death of her first Master. If Obi-Wan was the key to her getting over it . . . then it was good that they were friends.

Kya stirred, shifting slightly, and Obi-Wan's eyes slid open. He yawned, and he sat up. "Master," he said respectively, spotting me.

I smiled at him, and moved to kneel next to Anakin.

"What is it?" Obi-Wan asked, slipping his boots on and grabbing his cloak. "Has the Council requested our presence?"

I sighed. "Yes. I have to finish my report to the Council. Kya . . . interrupted it and we never finished. I need to tell them about Anakin."

Obi-Wan sighed, but didn't protest. A surprise. From the considerable resistance I had sensed from Obi-Wan toward Anakin, I had expected him to protest against my actions. As I shook Anakin, I asked, _And what were you and Kya doing, my young Padawan?_

Obi-Wan shrugged, standing while clipping on his lightsaber. _I was helping her get over her guilt of the death of her first Master_, he replied over the bond. He eyed me, suspicion growing in his blue-green eyes.

But before he could voice it, Anakin woke. "Master Qui-Gon?" he said, once he had scrubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Yes, Anakin, it's me. Get up and get dressed. We are leaving soon to report to the Council, and I don't want the healers to just kick you out with no where to go."

"The – Council?" Anakin's eyes were wide and filled with awe. I saw Obi-Wan turn away, trying to suppress a laugh. I frowned at him, but quickly replied to Anakin, "Yes. I'll come and collect you in a while, when the meeting's over."

"Yes, sir!" Anakin cried happily as he ran out of the room. I shook my head at him as a small smile played on my lips.

Obi-Wan lost it then and burst out laughing, doubling over as he gasped for breath. I frowned at him.

"Obi-Wan?" I asked, starting for him.

Kya stirred and woke up then, a confused expression on her face as she stared at Obi-Wan, who was laughing as hard as I'd ever seen him laugh.

She turned to me, a question coming to her lips. "Anakin," I answered, leaning against the wall to watch my apprentice. Her reaction surprised me.

"Hey, it was _not_ my fault," she snapped at Obi-Wan, spinning to face him. "That was _Skywalker's_ fault."

Obi-Wan managed to hold back his laughter long enough to say, "You got him into it, right?" She scowled, but there was no heat in her tone, expression, or aura. They were playing with each other. I relaxed, and swatted Obi-Wan gently through our bond.

_Something funny at another's expense, Padawan?_ I said affectionately. I received a mental nod, and sighed. As if on cue, Obi-Wan's laughter stopped, and he assumed a remorseful expression that sent Kya into gales of laughter. Now it was his turn to scowl at her.

I shook my head at the two of them.

"I'm going to find Anakin," I said as soon as Kya regained control of herself. "Kya, Obi-Wan, I'll call you when the Council wants you. But other than that, enjoy yourselves. It's been a while since either of you had some free time, if my memory serves me correctly."

As I left, I paused in the doorway. I'd seen how Kya's eyes had lit up when she had laughed. I wished that she would be happy, for the life she'd led . . . was less than unhappy.


	15. Chapter 13

I'm feeling generous, and this one was edited really quickly, so I am putting this chapter up.

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Chapter Thirteen_**

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~

"Could I speak with Padmé? Please?"

I put on my best pleading face, and Kya relented at last. "Oh, all right. Come on," she said, ruffling my hair affectionately and reaching for her cloak.

"Kya? Where are you going?"

Obi-Wan poked his head out, frowning at us. I frowned back. I did not really like Obi-Wan too much, and I could sense that he wasn't that much fonder of me either.

"Just to the Senate buildings," Kya replied, slipping into her cloak. "I want to speak with Queen Amidala."

Obi-Wan looked at her doubtfully. "_Don't_ worry, Obi-Wan," she said forcefully. "The Force will guide me if I get lost, and I have a comlink. Go on. I'll meet you in the Room of a Thousand Fountains later."

I could barely keep my jaw from dropping as Kya led me through the Senate building. Species – some that I'd seen before – walked past me with amazingly bright and beautiful outfits.

"Wow," I said, not bothering to hide my awe. Then something beeped, and Kya stopped, fiddling with her belt.

"Padawan Ranor," she said into the comlink. Someone – it sounded a lot like Master Qui-Gon – spoke. "Kya, where is Anakin? The Council wants to see him."

"In how much time? I want to speak to Queen Amidala, and dragged Anakin along. Obi-Wan was getting annoyed, and I decided, for the sake of his sanity, to get Anakin out before he exploded and I was charged for murder." Kya smiled down at me, letting me know she was just kidding about me being so supremely annoying.

"Very funny, Kya. Well, you have half an hour."

Kya frowned at the comlink. "Half a _standard_ hour, or half a _Jedi_ hour?"

"Standard, of course." With that, there was a click; apparently, Master Qui-Gon signed off.

Kya replaced the comlink, and moved a bit more swiftly through the crowd, but she took the time to point out various species and Senators from worlds that she told me about.

"See – there's the Senator from Alderaan!" she said, nodding at him as she launched into a quick briefing about it.

Finally, we stood outside the Naboo quarters. "I'm Jedi Padawan Kya Ranor, and this is Anakin Skywalker," Kya said without preamble to the guards. "We wish to speak with Padmé, a handmaiden to the Queen."

The guard nodded as the other spoke into a comlink. They waved us through after a moment, and I swallowed as instead of speaking with Padmé, we were greeted by the Queen herself.

"I'm sorry, but Padmé is not here. I sent her on an errand." The Queen was dressed in a very intimidating yet beautiful costume.

"Thank you, Your Majesty. I just wanted to say good-bye. I'm going to be tested by the Jedi Council, and I might not see her again," I managed to choke out.

The Queen's eyes softened slightly, although she never wavered. "We will tell her for you. We are sure her heart goes with you."

I bowed, and repeated my thanks.

"Anakin, please wait outside for a moment," Kya said softly. "I need to speak with Queen Amidala alone."

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~

Anakin complied, albeit reluctantly.

I turned back to the Queen, and allowed my posture to relax. I was, after all, older than the Queen here, and my Master had told me every detail about the Naboo War.

Including the Queen's use of a decoy, Sabé.

Also, I knew that later on, Queen Amidala had become a renowned Senator, Senator _Padmé_ Amidala of Naboo.

"You wished to speak with me alone?"

"Yes, Your Majesty . . . Queen _Padmé_ Amidala."

The Queen took a step back, and shock appeared on her face. "No, no, I won't tell," I assured her, moving my hands away from my lightsaber to prove to her – and all the security cams – that I was no threat and intended no harm. "I just wanted to make sure I was correct in my observations so I know who to protect if you decide to return to Naboo."

"I won't if the Senate agrees to act," the Queen replied. "If it does not . . . I am still considering my options with Senator Palpatine."

I frowned, showing my disdain for Palpatine, which she took to mean as disdain for the Senate. "Yes, he's just finished telling me that the Senate will not agree to work," she continued.

I shook my head with a sigh. "What do you plan to do if you are forced to return to Naboo?" I asked, my mind spinning as a plan to save Master Jinn began to form in my mind. _Granted, I may have to go against the Council, but it'll be worth it_, I thought.

The Queen sighed, which made her seem much less intimidating and more . . . human. "I do not know, as of yet. I don't even know if the Jedi will continue to allow a team to protect me if I do return."

"Fear not for that, Your Majesty," I said at once, the plan beginning to click into place. If the Council refused to send Master Jinn to Naboo with the Queen when she returned, then I would go in his stead, to draw the Sith Lord there. I wouldn't want to go running off to Naboo and think he was safe only to have him murdered right here on Coruscant. And if Master Jinn did accompany Queen Amidala back, then I would still go, to try and protect him and Obi-Wan from the Sith's wrath.

_Not the best plan_. I sighed. _But it's better than nothing._ I resumed speaking. "If the Jedi Council refuses to allow a team to accompany you home – assuming that you decide to do so – then I will return to Naboo with you."

The Queen didn't move, but I could feel her surprise echoing in the Force. "But you are an apprentice. Surely you, of all the Jedi, must obey orders?"

"All Jedi, apprentice or Knight or Master, are sworn to keep the peace in this galaxy, Your Majesty," I answered. "And what is happening on Naboo most definitely is not peace."

The Queen gave a small nod. "If you will do so, we shall be forever in your debt," she replied softly.

I laughed. "Your Majesty, knowing me, you shall repay your debt in a short amount of time."

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~

Kya came running up the path, her footwork sure and steady, her long brown hair flying behind her. She slid to a stop in front of me, panting slightly.

"You're late," I said with a smile, pretending to check the time. She scowled. "Shut it, Kenobi," she said, cuffing me.

"Where's Anakin?"

"I left him with Queen Amidala, and Qui-Gon told me that you had already left when I went back to your quarters. Funny, you know, he said that I was early," she remarked, staring straight ahead, trying to hide her smile. I choose not to comment.

Kya, it turned out, didn't really like swimming, but when I pushed her in, both physically and with the Force, she turned out to be able to swim very well.

"Kenobi!" she exclaimed, dripping wet. She threw her cloak on the shore. "Oh, I'll get you for that!"

Kya lunged at me, forcing me into the water as well. She also snatched away my lightsaber.

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~

"Hey, give it back!"

"I don't think so, Kenobi!"

"I thought Jedi didn't practice revenge, _Ranor_!"

"I'm not! I'm simply . . . teaching you . . . that your lightsaber is . . . your life . . . and you need . . . to protect . . . Hey, not fair!"

"Ha! Got it back!"

Laughter and the sounds of splashing met my ears as I walked into the Room of a Thousand Fountains. I smiled as I lingered in the shadows, watching Obi-Wan and Kya fight for control of Obi-Wan's lightsaber.

Their cloaks lay abandoned on the shore, and Kya's lightsaber, I sensed, was hidden under hers. It seemed that Kya had somehow managed to snatch away my apprentice's lightsaber, and Obi-Wan had been trying to get it back.

_Well, that explains the shouting_, I mused. Just then, Obi-Wan, with the Force to help, shoved a humongous wave of water at Kya, soaking her. She shrieked in surprise, and then tackled him.

This continued for a little while longer, with both apprentices getting soaked several times over. Finally, though, Obi-Wan got the upper hand. He figured out that if he repeatedly splashed Kya, she was too busy defending to attack back.

I stepped out from the shadows then. The splashing stopped immediately as both Kya and Obi-Wan immediately sensed me.

Obi-Wan, trying to be Jedi-like and gentlemanly, signaled a truce and offered Kya a hand to help her up. Kya took it, her sapphire eyes sparkling mischievously, . . .

. . . and yanked him down beside her.

"_Now_ it's a truce," she said, laughing at his astonished look. I couldn't restrain myself any longer, and laughed along with the two apprentices.

Obi-Wan stood, this time helping Kya up for real, and came to the shore. "Alright, you two," I said, smiling. "You'd better shower and change if you want to be presentable for the Council."


	16. Chapter 14

To everyone, apologies for this late posting, but my brother did . . . something . . . to my Microsoft Word and I had some issues opening my documents. Oh, well. Here it is!

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_**Chapter Fourteen**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~

I stood next to Obi-Wan, running my fingers through my still-wet hair. Obi-Wan's hair, I noticed enviously, was already dry.

He grinned at me, undoubtedly sensing my emotions. "Envy is not a suitable trait of the Jedi," he lectured sternly, trying to hide his grin.

"Next time, you'll pay big time, Kenobi," I hissed at him, but I couldn't conceal my grin either.

But then the Council doors opened, and I rearranged my expression into one more suitable to walking into a full session of the Jedi High Council.

"Master Jinn," greeted Master Windu, but his eyes didn't quite stay on Master Jinn; they fell on me. I held his gaze for a moment before breaking it to direct my attention toward Master Jinn. "Please, continue with your report."

I frowned; what in the Force's name was _I_ doing here? I had barely seen their mission, although I knew a lot more than they did. Master Kenobi had keep me well informed about what had happened when I made my own little research project on the Naboo War.

_What _does_ Master Jinn want by my presence here?_ I thought, growing frustrated. I half-listened as Master Jinn argued with the Council about Anakin, although he didn't say Anakin's name outright.

"You refer to the prophecy of the one who will bring balance to the Force," said Master Windu, his voice quiet and disbelieving. I snapped my attention back to the present. "You believe it's this . . . boy?"

Here Master Jinn hesitated. I wasn't surprised. I would have been nervous myself. The prophecy for the Chosen One was an old, old prophecy that had gained much skepticism from the Masters of the Council.

Master Jinn chose his words carefully, wanting the Council to agree but careful not to alienate them any more than they already were. "I don't presume – "

"But you do!" Master Yoda interrupted. His words, I realized, were meant as much as a challenge as an observation of Master Jinn's position. "Revealed, your opinion is."

"I request that the boy be tested," Master Jinn said, his tone stiff. I glanced at him, my expression sad. I could already see that the Council did not believe Master Jinn, and could not be persuaded otherwise, but I held my tongue and shielded my thoughts – it was not my place to argue with either Master Jinn or the Council.

I sighed as Master Windu and Master Yoda agreed to test Anakin; my memory hadn't failed me yet, and I had a good idea of what the conclusion of the Council would be.

My sigh caught Obi-Wan's attention, and he gave a quick glance at me. I instantly threw up shields around my thoughts; I didn't need to encourage Obi-Wan's dislike of Anakin, which was obvious both in my world and in this one.

~ _Padmé Amidala_ ~

As I left the Naboo pod, I was shaken, haunted. Haunted by the look of betrayal on the now most likely former Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Senate of the Galactic Republic – Finis Valorum.

It didn't help that I thought I had caught a small smile on Palpatine's face after Chancellor Valorum had asked us about our . . . betrayal of him.

I barely noticed when we arrived back in the quarters that Palpatine had give to me; my mind was still whirling from the events in the Senate.

_Palpatine's voice as he urged me to force a new election for Supreme Chancellor. The Trade Federation's representative, protesting my accusation and asking for a commission to "ascertain the truth". The Chancellor hesitating before turning to consult Mas Amedda. Palpatine's sad voice, informing me that the Chancellor would not force a vote. The Chancellor, conceding, surrendering, asking me to stop my accusation. My defiant refusal, and sharp request for a vote of no-confidence in Chancellor Valorum._

I was so caught up in my memories that it took a while for me to register that someone was standing next to me. My handmaidens had long ago withdrawn and my guards were outside; in short, I was alone and free to express my true emotions.

"Your Majesty. Padmé," said a calm voice. I turned to see Kya standing next to me, a very sad expression on her face.

"They . . . have requested a commission," I said, trying and failing to keep the accusation and despair out of my tone. I didn't need to explain who 'they' were. "In short, they have refused to act. So I . . . I asked for a vote of no confidence in Chancellor Valorum."

Kya nodded slowly, gesturing me to sit. When I hesitated, she sighed. "Padmé, please. Don't make me _make_ you sit." As I tried to smile at her for her strange sense of humor, she said quietly, "I know of your deeds, and you should not be ashamed. In your circumstances . . . you have enough to deal with."

I smiled at her uncertainly as I found my seat. Her words had taken away the guilt, leaving me suddenly free to deal with the new issue at hand. "Thank you, Kya," I said, meaning the words.

She shrugged. "No problem." Kya sat down next to me. "Now, for the next issue – what are you going to do, now that the Senate has failed to act?"

"Wait." I sat up, something clicking in my brain. "You _knew_ that the Senate would refuse to act, didn't you? _That's_ why you made that face at me earlier."

"Yes . . . and no." Kya smiled sadly. "I just don't like politicians when they are being . . . politicians." She made a face. "Like right now. They – or at least the majority of them – are interested more in how much money is in their pockets than saving the people and promoting the common good."

I glared at her for deflecting the question, and she relented. "Yes, alright; I did have a feeling that the Senate would not act," she said, surrendering with a gentle smile. "I've dealt with the Senate many times, and although all Jedi are negotiators and we must deal with the Senate, well . . . it doesn't mean that we all actually _like_ dealing with those people. And I happen to hate politics. So," she said, changing the subject, "now the question becomes – what will you do know?"

"I think . . . I think that I will need more time to think on it," I answered slowly. Kya nodded, and rose.

"Where's Anakin?"

"Somewhere outside, in the office." I waved in the general direction of Palpatine's office. "Did you really need to ask me? What happened to your famous Jedi abilities?"

Kya smiled. "I wanted to talk to you, and Anakin _does_ need to learn patience," she admitted. She reached out suddenly, grasping my hand. I blinked, and shock kept me from withdrawing my hand. Her grip was warm and gentle.

"Remember my promise earlier, Padmé," Kya said in a low voice. "Whatever decision you make – whether to remain and continue arguing on Coruscant or to return to Naboo – I will work with you until your people are free from the oppression of the Trade Federation."

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~

I thought I heard a noise from the main room, where Kya was sleeping, but dismissed it; I could vaguely sense Kya's emotions, and they were the proper kind for one who is sleeping – quiet, at peace.

Kya had returned just as the afternoon was beginning with Anakin, who my Master took off to the Council. He had given me the day free, but asked me to stay with Kya.

I had brought Kya to the Jedi Archives earlier, and she had been delighted. I had caught her muttering, more than once, "Well, it's definitely less busy than it was." I had not confronted her, fearing that it would be too much; she was still shy with me about revealing so much about her first Master.

We had avoided the mess hall; questions were bound to come up, and Kya was still refusing to answer the majority, even from me, so I doubted she'd be pleased with answering question from others who were absolute strangers to her. But at least the Knights and other apprentices we met in the hallways restrained their curiosity, or were deflected by Kya's politics.

We ate lunch in our quarters – my Master joined us, as Kya seemed to be able to cook better than the two of us combined – a lunch that was, by my account, more noisy that it was ever was. Kya had been more relaxed afterward, although she had stiffened when she had walked in on my Master and me discussing Anakin.

Then Kya and I had sparred in a quiet training salle, but it was not long before we drew an audience, of course. My friend – and fellow apprentice – Garen Muln had eventually managed to push his way through and speak to us.

"_Obi-Wan," Garen greeted warmly, giving me a tight and brief hug as the crowd slowly dispersed once it became clear that the dueling was done. Then Garen turned his glance upon Kya, who was already moving through yet another kata._

"_Who's this?" he asked, nodding at her. Kya's fluid grace had caught his attention and her hair was beginning to spill out of her tight and neat ponytail. _

"_Kya," I called, catching her attention. She brushed her hair out of her face while deactivating her lightsaber. "Kya, this is my friend, Garen. Garen, this is Kya."_

_Kya nodded gracefully, and her eyes darted to the Padawan braid hanging over Garen's shoulder. Garen shook her hand and she smiled, but hesitantly._

_As she turned to go back to practicing, Garen turned to me with a slight frown on his usually cheerful face. _

"_She's an apprentice?" _

_I nodded, keeping one eye on Kya._

"_Who's her Master then?"_

_I shrugged. "She's keeping quiet about it," I replied. "Not even the Council knows."_

_Garen whistled. "Wow. She's got some nerve, to face down the Council."_

After we had managed to get out of the salle, we had returned to my quarters. Kya had announced her intention to try and get some rest before the Council summoned us with the results of Anakin's testing.

The noise happened again, and I frowned, setting down the cup of boiling water so as to not accidentally spill it on myself, which had happened on more occasions than I wished and was utterly embarrassing every time.

I stepped into the room, and saw that Kya was stiff, stiffer than anyone is when they are asleep – especially if they are a Jedi . . . except when they're having a nightmare or a vision.

"Kya?" I asked tentatively, starting toward her. I knelt by her side as I got to her, and saw sweat forming on her forehead. Her fists were clenched tightly, and her muscles were tense. Except for the fact that she was asleep, I would expect her to be ready for a fight.

I shook her, and she started awake suddenly. Tears manifested themselves in her eyes, and her shoulders shook.

I watched her for a moment, a strange feeling blossoming in me. As Kya turned to me, an apology forming on her lips, I suddenly caught her in a tight embrace. Kya started again, and although at first she tried to pull away, then she rested against me.

My comlink buzzed. Kya and I jumped apart, and she immediately snatched up her cloak as I answered.

"Padawan Kenobi here. Yes?"

"Padawan," came my Master's voice. "The Council is ready."

"Coming," I replied, shooting Kya a glance. "And I think Kya's coming too."

"That's fine."

As I re-attached my comlink to my belt, I glanced over at Kya. _What _was_ that?_ I thought, thinking back on my impulsive reaction.


	17. Chapter 15

Sorry for the late update, but I've been running around packing for the last week. My parents are taking me on vacation, and I won't have access to the Internet until about this time next week. So, you'll just have to hold on until then. When I get back, I'll post a lot more stuff.

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_**Chapter Fifteen**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~

As Master Jinn, Obi-Wan, and I strode into the Council chambers, I spotted Anakin standing nervously in the center, and my stomach dropped, ice filling my muscles with a cold and numbing feeling. _Oh, Skywalker, what did they say this time?_ my mind asked fervently.

I wished that I could offer Anakin some support, but Master Jinn was already there. I already knew what the Council would say; I had heard this from my Master so many times I practically knew it for memory.

So I didn't pay attention until Master Windu said quietly, "No. He will not be trained."

Master Jinn stiffened as Obi-Wan shot his Master a look. Anakin's face crumpled, and sadness and crushed hope rang through his aura. I could sense Master Jinn's growing anger as he unfolded his arms, but I did not intercede.

"He is too old," Master Windu said. "There is already too much anger in him."

I sighed quietly. _No wonder Skywalker never liked the Council_, I thought. _Though, now that I look back on it, it didn't help that they refused to grant him the rank of Master when they gave him the Council seat for Palpatine._

"He _is_ the Chosen One," Master Jinn insisted, stepping forward. "You must see it."

Master Yoda shook his head. "Masked, his future is. Clouded by his youth."

Master Jinn stepped forward again, placing his hands on Anakin's shoulders. "Very well," he said, holding his anger in check. "I will train him then. I take Anakin Skywalker as my Padawan Learner."

I felt Obi-Wan stiffen next to me, and I shifted towards him, lending him my support. He didn't respond, and I felt him radiate confusion and anger.

I turned my attention back to the Council in time to hear Master Yoda said darkly, "An apprentice you have, Qui-Gon. Impossible, to take a second."

"We forbid it," Master Windu added flatly.

Master Jinn turned to Obi-Wan, saying, "Obi-Wan is ready . . . "

Obi-Wan stepped forward, unfolding his arms as well. "I am ready," he insisted. "I am ready to take the Trials."

Master Yoda did not buy it, and neither did I. _He is trying to hide his anger at Master Jinn by this_, I thought sadly.

"Our own counsel we will keep, for who is ready," Master Yoda said sharply.

I sighed, and reached out for Obi-Wan's hand. He stepped back to my side deferentially, and stood beside me. Anakin's aura sang of his sadness, and I caught the motion of his thoughts. _He wishes that he had stayed with his mother_, I realized.

I shook my head. _Well. _This_ certainly explains a lot about Skywalker._ I studied Master Windu thoughtfully. _Does he realize how deep the wounds inflicted by these words are? Does he know how much the balance of the Force – and the survival of the Jedi – rides on Anakin Skywalker's shoulders?_

"Padawan Ranor, something to say have you?"

I started. I had not expected to speak, simply to observe. Master Jinn turned his gaze to me, but I ignored him and Obi-Wan, stepping forward so that I was now the center of attention. "I can speak neither in defense nor in accusation against Anakin, Masters of the Council," I said finally.

Master Windu sat back in his seat, clearly interpreting my answer as support for the Council's decision. I held up a hand, signaling that I was not finished. Other Masters shot me looks that I ignored; my advice would be to only the Jedi who knew the truth about me.

"But I will say this. Other rather, _show_ this."

Closing my eyes, I reached out to the Force, and felt the Masters follow me. I frowned when Anakin and Obi-Wan did not follow, and dragged them along. I slowly lowered the barriers around my mind, and winced as I felt the Jedi cross into my mind. I instantly shielded the most important memories from view, obstructing it with shields that my Master, Lady Elizabeth, and I had fashioned earlier, and that I knew were strong enough to hold up under the Council's scrutiny.

I allowed myself to materialize in front of them, garbed in the attire I had been wearing when my Master and I had left Coruscant for Utapau. It was slightly different from what I wore now in front of the Council, because this uniform signified that I was the apprentice to a Council Master. I saw several Masters exchange looks, but Master Windu and Master Jinn only nodded resignedly.

Summoning my memories, I showed the Jedi what Lady Elizabeth had showed me – the ultimate shatterpoint. I heard gasps from the Jedi around me at the uniform – which clearly stated that I was an active field Jedi apprentice to a Jedi Council member – but only said calmly, "Master Windu, I believe that your special gift is the ability to sense shatterpoints."

I turned to the crowd of Jedi. "This is the shatterpoint that appeared in my world. As you can see the Force tips dangerously out of balance. The Anakin Skywalker of my world is the pivot point, the ultimate weapon of survival . . . and destruction. On one side stands the surviving Jedi and those who support the Republic – Master Kenobi, Master Yoda, Senator Mon Mothma, Senator Organa, and others. On the other side stand the surviving Sith and those who support the Empire – Darth Sidious and his armies."

I let the vision fade, and allowed myself to return to my real body, recalling the shields that protected my entire mind from intruders. "Whatever side Skywalker chooses will determine how balance is to be achieved, and . . ." I closed my eyes, feeling anguished by the decision made by Skywalker in my world. ". . . and the fate of any Jedi who survive the war. If Skywalker chooses the Sith, then I can guarantee that the Jedi will be declared outcasts and rebels of the Republic; traitors to be hunted down and destroyed. If Skywalker chooses the Jedi, then we shall prevail over the Sith."

"Skywalker must choose the light if we are to survive," I finished. I opened my eyes to see the other Jedi had already returned to their bodies and the present. "But that is what is happening my own world. It may be different here."

"The Chosen One _will_ choose the light, as the prophecy says," insisted a Master. I raised an eyebrow, and sighed; my patience with the Council was at an end.

"When Skywalker makes his choice, he will not be looking at it as though it is a decision of light and dark," I retorted, my tone exasperated. I was well aware that I was showing disrespect to the highest Masters of the Order, but I no longer cared; if this was what was needed to save this world from the dark happenings of mine, I would gladly pay the price.

"He will decide on whom he trusts more – the Jedi he sees in front of him or the Sith he sees in front of them. Not as a Jedi, and not as a Sith. As a _person_. Bearing in mind this _reception_, are you so sure that he will choose the Jedi, when all he sees in your eyes is scorn and doubt?"

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~

I looked in amazement at Padawan Ranor. Her posture was stiff and her tone anguished. It was apparent that she was trying to impress something on the Masters.

And although she had insisted that she was not trying to sway the Masters to train Anakin, her words most definitely could be used as support for my case.

"And where, may I ask," she continued, "does this prophecy say specifically that the Chosen One is a Jedi? Or, for that matter, that bringing balance to the Force means bringing down the Sith?"

"What decision did Skywalker make?" asked Adi softly as murmurs rose from the other Jedi Masters considering Kya's words.

Kya stiffened even more. "That," she replied, her voice equally soft, "is for the Jedi to decide. You cannot affect events in my world anymore than I could at this moment."

My apprentice's face was no longer angry; on the contrary, he was concerned for Kya.

Another Master leaned forward. "How can we know, apprentice, that the words you speak are true?" he demanded.

Kya sighed. "I am an apprentice; you are a Jedi Master. If you cannot sense whether or not I speak the truth, how could I prove it too you?"

"How about your memories?"

Kya turned to the Master sharply, her sapphire eyes flashing with anger. "If you think – "

Mace stepped back into the debate. "Now is not the time for this," he said, his tone silencing both Kya and the Master. "The Senate is voting for a new Supreme Chancellor, and Queen Amidala has decided to return to Naboo."

"And this might draw out the Queen's attacker," Ki-Adi-Mundi put in.

"Stay with this Naboo Queen, you must, Qui-Gon," Yoda said. Kya's posture relaxed here; I filed this behavior away for later examination. "Young Skywalker's fate will be decided later."

"Protect the Queen, but do not intercede if it comes to war," Mace finished. Mace turned his gaze upon Kya. "Are you going to remain in the Temple, Padawan Ranor?"

Kya shook her head, her anger fading. "No," she answered. "I will return to Naboo with Queen Amidala."


	18. Chapter 16

Hi there! Sorry for the very long wait, but when I went on vacation I didn't have Internet, and then I came back just in time for Fanfiction to catch that very strange bug. But anyway, enough of my excuses. Here we go!

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_**Chapter Sixteen**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Padmé Amidala_ ~

I released a quiet breath, seeking to get rid of my frustration. The Jedi Council had indeed allowed Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice to escort me home to Naboo, and, as she had promised, Kya Ranor had come as well.

Kya had proved to be thoughtful and trustworthy. She had kept true to her word, not telling anyone about my deception, even though I had overheard Obi-Wan ask about why the Queen kept turning to me – as Padmé the handmaiden – for advice.

And so I had summoned Kya. I wanted her advice on my plan; I wanted to see what she thought. But Kya was taking a long time in coming – hence my frustration. I knew that it wasn't her fault for taking so long; it was in the middle of Coruscant's night cycle by now.

A slight commotion at the door attracted my attention, and Kya strode in, her long brown Jedi cloak floating around her feet as she walked and her long brown hair flowing down her back. She carried herself with quiet dignity, and she projected the aura of confidence and encouragement.

"Your Majesty," she greeted, bowing to me. I was no longer in my more imperial costumes that announced my rank as Queen of Naboo, but in a more watered down outfit that might befit a Senator of Naboo. It was still beautiful and comfortable, but less imposing. I rose from the throne as Sabé, Rabé, and Eirtaé followed me.

"No need to bow to me, Kya," I replied, coming to her side. Her aura made me feel somehow more relaxed, while my less imposing costume made me feel . . . second class, compared to her. She was a Jedi Padawan, and while I had done my best for my people, she had been doing her best for the whole galaxy for the majority of her life. I wore the imposing costumes of the Queen, yet she seemed to twice the air of command I did wearing only the simplest of Jedi uniforms. _If only I grow to have half of what Kya seems to present to others_, I mused to myself, _I would consider my life well lived._

"As you wish," Kya said amiably. I noticed that she was tired, and made to apologize, but she waved it off. "Padmé, do not feel less important in my presence. It is a Jedi's way to project the confidence which I know is, at the moment, soothing your nerves and giving you the impression that I am better, higher."

I blinked, startled at how well she'd interpreted my thoughts. She had taken almost every single insecurity I was feeling, processed them, and said them to me calmly, all while somehow using her words to make me understand that I was only human, and could not be faulted for such insecurities.

Kya gave a small smile at my puzzlement. "You were thinking rather loudly, Your Majesty. Do not worry; Master Jinn and Padawan Kenobi would not have dared to intrude on your thoughts the way I just did. As for the aura that is affecting you, Jedi usually project them to stave off . . . unwelcome parties.

"Now, what did you wish to speak to me about?"

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~

I nearly stumbled upon entering our room again, and scowled darkly at Obi-Wan's boots. I wasn't used to a messy Obi-Wan Kenobi; my Master had always been neat and methodical, preferring it to the chaos and disorganization caused by the war and by . . . well, by Skywalker. And I had agreed with him. I much favored organization over chaos, but, alas, apparently I was born with a destiny as disorganized as it can get.

And it didn't help that I was tired, extremely tired. I had gotten a bit of rest at the Temple, but being there, the place that was my home and that I knew could be destroyed if I failed to stop Sidious, was exhaustingly strange, and I was emotionally spent.

Having no desire to sleep with someone who could not control their thoughts at night, I had chosen to sleep with Master Jinn and Obi-Wan. I had grown up serving missions that required absolute silence and the most rigid control on your mind so that enemies like Ventress and Dooku could not sense you. Comfortable as I was around the Naboo and Anakin, none of them could control their thoughts at night the way Jedi can, and I knew that I'd end up staying up all night if I roomed with them.

A shadowed figure sat up when I took off my boots and cloak. I didn't stiffen at all, knowing exactly who it was.

"Kya?" came Obi-Wan's soft voice. I smiled. _Trust Obi-Wan to sense that I was gone and to wait for my return. _

"Yes. Good night," I said, lying down and quieting my mind.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~

I sat up and slid out of my blankets, re-settling next to Kya. Her eyes were closed, I could tell, and she was quieting her thoughts in preparation for sleep.

"Where were you?" I asked softly, not wanting to wake my Master. "It's the middle of the night cycle."

Kya sighed, rolling over to face me. "Queen Amidala and Captain Panaka wanted to speak to me, and I had nothing better to do," she answered sleepily.

I let my hand rest on her shoulder, and Kya opened her eyes. "What did they want?" I asked. Worry was making me stiff. Kya frowned, sitting up as she sensed the direction my thoughts were going.

"What's wrong?" she asked gently.

I shook my head. "I don't know," I replied. "But I have . . . I'm getting a strange feeling. I don't know. I just feel like whatever they said to you will put you in danger."

I sensed Kya shrug. "Aren't Jedi always getting into trouble?" she said, a teasing tone in her voice.

I scowled; apparently, she still hadn't gotten over the fact that she had managed to wrest my lightsaber from me. I started as I felt her reach for my mind.

_What?_

I could feel that we had a bond, similar to the one I shared with my Master. I reached for Kya, and she gripped my hand tightly.

_I . . . didn't know a bond had formed_, she said, her tone worried.

The worry in her tone made me sigh, and I grabbed Kya in a tight hug. She stiffened in surprise at first, but then slowly relaxed against her. I felt her yawn in sleep as she rested her head against me, and I tightened my embrace, resting my chin on her head.

_It's all right_, I sent back. _It's all right, Kya. Now, what _did_ they want with you?_

I felt Kya shrug in my embrace. _Queen Amidala is forming a plan for what she's going to do when we land on Naboo_, she said finally._ She wanted my opinion on it._

I shifted, peering down at Kya, whose face was now resting against my sleep tunic. _And what did you think about it?_ I asked.

Kya pulled away from me just enough for me to see her face, bringing her hands to rest on my chest. Her sapphire eyes sparkled with laughter. _Well, now_, she said, _we'll just have to wait and see, won't we?_

I sighed. _Wonderful_, I said sarcastically. _Just what I wanted._

Kya grinned. _I know, right?_

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~

I woke up suddenly and completely. I sighed as I rubbed the sleep from my eyes. _Back to Naboo_, I thought. _I wonder what the Queen is going to do now._

I swung my legs over my sleep couch, and sighed as I recognized the sight in front of me. Obi-Wan's back was turned to me, and Kya lay facing him. But my breath caught when I reached out with the Force to find a link, a bond in fact, connecting the two. I leaned back in confusion. I reached out to the Living Force for guidance and found that it urged me to let this pass.

_Is it their destiny to be together? Is that what the Force is trying to tell me?_

Obi-Wan's presence in their bond seemed to comfort Kya, and he seemed to be okay with the fact that she leaned upon him. It was then that I realized that Obi-Wan's role was becoming like that of a big brother or a Master, with Kya turning to him as something to rely on that would remain steady despite the constant changes in her life.

I let out a long sigh, almost in relief, and heard a knock on the door. I was standing in a second, and in a flash I had opened the door and slipped out. I didn't want whoever it was to come inside, that was for sure.

Captain Panaka stood there, looking slightly startled as I slipped out and shut the door firmly behind me. "Yes?" I prompted.

"Her Majesty wants to speak with you and the other Jedi," he said after a moment. I nodded. "Very well, I'll rouse the others."

He nodded in return and moved off, speaking into his comlink. I returned to our room to find Obi-Wan and Kya still sleeping. I frowned, lingering in the shadows for a moment as I studied Kya. In the few moments since I had left, Kya had changed. She was stiff; every muscle tensed as though something was going to attack her. Sweat beaded her forehead, and her hands were clenched tightly.

I watched my apprentice start awake beside her, his blue-green eyes focusing on her. I blinked when he didn't even glance at me; normally, his bond with me would have alerted him to my position immediately.

Obi-Wan laid a gentle hand on Kya. "Kya," he murmured, shaking her. He said her name again, and shook her harder before she finally started awake.

She was sitting in a second, facing my apprentice, her shoulders shaking. I was startled when Obi-Wan grasped her tightly in a strong embrace as Kya's control shattered and tears began to fall.

I shifted, frowning at Kya. _What could upset her so much?_ I wondered. If anything, I'd thought that she'd have been upset when she confronted Mace, Yoda, and I.

Obi-Wan's eyes flashed to me, alerted by my movement, and he stiffened, his grip tightening around Kya. I stepped out of the shadows as Kya turned, her tears drying already, and settled myself on my sleep couch, looking at both apprentices. Kya, by then, had shifted out of Obi-Wan's embrace, and was sitting on the floor, her tears gone and her expression controlled.

Obi-Wan got the first word out. "You think that Kya and I are forming an attachment," he stated. I could hear the slight question in his statement, but for the most part I knew that his suspicions from my actions in the Temple had taken root and bloomed.

Kya appeared startled by this, but Obi-Wan silenced her with a gentle gesture. I felt their bond pulse, with Obi-Wan reassuring Kya of _something_, but their bond was too new – and too heavily shielded – for me to figure out what they were talking about.

"Queen Amidala has summoned us for something," I said, not commenting on my apprentice's statement. Kya nodded, rising to her feet with a fluid grace that I blinked at. Obi-Wan was already 25 standard years old, yet he still possessed some . . . well, the grace that Kya displayed would take a while before my apprentice fully acquired it.

Kya left the room silently, heading for the refresher with clean clothing clutched in her hands. I returned my gaze to my apprentice, whose blue-green eyes were hard.

_You are worried that I will give up my place in the Order once again_, he said. I shook my head at that, and sat down by my apprentice on the floor.

_I just . . . Why was Kya crying earlier?_ I asked, changing the subject.

_She still gets nightmares of what has happened to those close to her_, came the reply. _She is afraid that what has happened will repeat itself, and she is determined to stop it._

_She is young_, I said with a sigh. _If what happened in her world was the will of the Force, then she can do little to stop it._

_I know. And it doesn't help that her Master-Padawan bond is blocked, so she doesn't have a clue about what is happening to her Master._ Obi-Wan finally looked me directly in the eyes when I asked, _How did you find this out? Did she tell you?_

Obi-Wan grimaced. _Not quite._ He then told me about Kya's memory, letting my glimpse what he remembered of it.

I swallowed, my throat tightening as I recalled the phrase Kya had uttered – _"I won't see them kill you the way they did to my first Master."_ The phrase haunted me. _If I had been forced to witness my Master's death_, I thought, _I might have nightmares too._ I also was shocked by the amount of will the girl had, to accept that she was a prisoner and then to also attempt to push her Master away from her, to try – in her mind – to protect him from whatever she would face.

_So, later on, when the Council was testing Anakin, Kya had a nightmare and I . . . _

_You acted like a fellow apprentice, and tried to comfort her_, I finished, approval lighting my tone. Obi-Wan frowned, his confusion broadcasting across our bond. I reached out, resting my hand on his arm.

_No, I'm proud of you, Padawan. You are at last beginning to listen to my advice – and the will of the Living Force._

* * *

Please, no flames about the sappy stuff. I'm terrible about writing those kinds of scenes.


	19. Chapter 17

**** Hi, everyone. Sorry for the awfully long wait, but my Internet got a virus of some sort and my dad kicked me off the Internet while he played around with it. So right now I'm hurriedly posting this at the library (thank goodness this wedsite's not blocked!). Unfortunately, this also means that my posting new chapters will become very sporadic until I regain Internet or I go the library, which is about once a month or less. I will try to update as much as possible, but there are no guarantees 'til summertime. Thanks for your patience!

* * *

**_Chapter Seventeen_**

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~

I hovered by the door, watching as Master Jinn and Obi-Wan sorted out their . . . differences. I smiled, pleased by the emotions I could sense from their bond. I had known all along that Master Jinn had eventually realized that Obi-Wan and I had not formed an attachment, and would not leave the Order.

Unfortunately, Obi-Wan sensed my emotions from _our_ bond, and he rose, his blue-green eyes flicking to mine. Master Jinn rose behind him, his own midnight blue eyes calm and serene. He noticed my smile, and raised his eyebrow.

I nodded in return; I had known all along of his suspicions concerning the relationship between Obi-Wan and I and only strove to alleviate it. Obi-Wan slipped out past me, heading for the refresher. I made a feint for his lightsaber, and he countered automatically, snatching my wrist.

I smiled, easily slipping out of his grab, and retaliated with a quick jab. Obi-Wan blocked, but then was diverted when Master Jinn aided me in distracting him by some Force-suggestion that made Obi-Wan momentarily diverted, standing stock still.

And that "moment" of diversion was quite enough for me.

"Hey, not fair!" he exclaimed as I tackled him, tossing his lightsaber to Master Jinn, who caught it deftly and waved it in front of him. Obi-Wan landed heavily, rolling slightly to avoid the jar, but also to try and throw me off.

It was then that my comlink buzzed, reminding me of the meeting with Queen Amidala. I frowned, releasing Obi-Wan.

That turned out to be a big mistake.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~

As Kya let me go, distracted by her comlink, I called upon the Force, and easily threw her off. She landed lightly, the Force allowing her to catch her balance.

I sat up, signaling a truce. Kya smiled, and helped me up, returning the signal. I turned to find my Master looking at the two of us, his amusement easily broadcasting to me, and through me to Kya.

A knock on the door made Kya turn, her eyes narrowing as she reached out with the Force. "Anakin!" she exclaimed suddenly, racing to the door.

My Master laughed at Kya's reaction, and I scowled, summoning my lightsaber from his grasp easily and stalking after Kya. My Master's amusement reached Kya, and as we went off to the Queen I had to deal with – not one – but two fellow Jedi poking fun at me.

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~

It took of all my will to control my expression as the Queen revealed her plan. Obi-Wan started in surprise, but other than that he kept himself under careful control. Captain Panaka barely kept himself from interrupting Queen Amidala as she explained her plan to Jar Jar Binks.

Kya, however, remained completely at ease, and when the Queen glanced her way, a slight nervousness in her expression, Kya nodded, offering her support silently.

"Master Jedi, surely you see that this plan puts too much at risk?" Panaka was desperate for my support, no doubt hoping that I would convince the Queen to return to Coruscant.

Kya interrupted before I could respond. "So little faith in your Queen, Captain," she said gently, a reproving tone clear in her statement. "The plan _will_ work, but only if the Queen has your support. Do not be afraid to take risks, Your Majesty," she added, as much for Queen Amidala as for Panaka, "for it is those little things that can win the battle."

"You speak as if you've experienced it," Captain Panaka put in sourly. "May I remind the apprentice that you've never been Naboo, that you've have not seen the devastation the Trade Federation can wreak or the might of their army?"

Kya's eyes flashed and her face hardened, but her answer was calm and her tone level. "I am seen much of what the Trade Federation and its army are able to accomplish, Captain," she answered mildly. "Or does watching nearly 200 of my brothers and sisters – apprentices and Knights alike – die at the hands of the armies of the Federation not count?"

The Queen appeared startled, and so did the Captain. I watched my apprentice take Kya's hand silently, offering his comfort and his presence. She turned slightly toward him, and I felt their bond pulse gently.

The Captain apologized at once, but ventured to ask, "How far are you willing to go before you agree that we have failed and must return to Coruscant?"

Kya's eyes hardened. "I've seen the devastation they can do, Captain. I am determined to pay whatever price is needed to secure the freedom of the Naboo. You all will play a very important part in what is to come, and you can't exactly do that if I allow you to be killed in this conflict."

Obi-Wan turned to her with a frown, as did I. _'Pay whatever price'? That doesn't sound good._ I sighed when I remembered the bracelet on her wrist. _The three strands . . . They place an important part in this._ I shared this with my apprentice, and we both resolved to speak to Kya about it later.


	20. Chapter 18

Yay! Got this chapter back just now and am posting while I can. Sorry 'bout the cliffhanger, but I haven't yet written up the next chapter. Something to keep you on your toes anyway!

* * *

_**Chapter Eighteen**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~

"You knew all along, didn't you?"

The question wasn't accusatory, wasn't prodding, wasn't anything but a question. Yet it tore my heart open to admit that I'd come close to lying to Obi-Wan about Queen Amidala's deception.

"Yes," I answered, finally turning to see Obi-Wan standing there.

_I don't blame you_, he responded, using the bond. I grimaced, just Anakin came running up, face flushed. "They're coming!" he shouted. I smiled, and moved to stand next to the boy.

Anakin had taken the Council's rejection hard, but I had comforted him as best as I could. I had finally managed to distract him when I had brought him to the cockpit and began to coach him on how the steer and whatnot. He had been overjoyed at that, and later that night, as I'd let him fiddle with a particularly confusing riddle of a puzzle, I'd slowly erected powerful shields around Anakin, to protect him if someone tried to invade his mind.

I wasn't really sure why I had gone that far; as far as I knew, Sidious had never entered Anakin's mind. But the irony was clear to me; in my memories, it was _Skywalker_ who was the one who had erect shields around _me_ when my Master hadn't been able to.

I had sensed Obi-Wan's view of the boy changing slowly as the journey had progressed, and I was relieved that I had managed to prevent the rift between Master Jinn and Obi-Wan that had opened in my world.

Obi-Wan's hand reached for my own, signaling his acceptance. I quickly shielded my thoughts as I felt his presence brush against mine in our bond, and felt a rush of pleasure.

I fingered my bracelet. _Save Master Jinn and defeat Palpatine/Sidious before he takes power; that much is clear_, I thought, half-listening to Padmé's strategy. _But . . . to teach Skywalker . . . that's going to be hard. He's already having a hard time, what with leaving his mother and having to deal with the Council's rejection._ I sighed inwardly. _I _will_ make sure that Skywalker is trained_, I vowed. _He's too important to be cast out._

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~

We hurried through the secret passageway beneath the waterfall. The Queen's plan was coming along well . . . so far. But I – and the other Jedi – could sense the ever-hanging shroud that was the dark side of the Force.

"Kya," I began softly, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. She glanced at me, and murmured gently, "Go on, Annie; I'll catch up in a minute." Anakin threw me a suspicious glance, but Kya cleared her throat pointedly and he sighed, moving up beside Obi-Wan, but not before Kya's expression softened and she ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Yes, Master Jinn?" she said, turning to face me, her attention completely on me. I hesitated, my thoughts running in circles for a moment.

"Kya," I finally said, "what does the bracelet signify?"

Now it was her turn to hesitate. When she finally answered, it was obvious that she was choosing her words carefully. "When I came here . . . it was with the intention that I finish three things that didn't happen where I come from. Those things . . . I want to do them. They may be the key to preventing your world from becoming mine."

"Three tasks?" I mused aloud. "Ah. Thus the three strands."

Kya nodded, her eyes on Anakin. "And on of those tasks involves returning to Naboo?" I ventured.

She smiled. "More than that, Master Jinn. Queen Amidala, Anakin, Obi-Wan – they've got so much more to accomplish! Even you do, I know it. I can feel it."

"Any . . . hints on what those tasks are?"

Kya looked at me, an amused smile on her face. "No, I cannot speak of them until they are finished. But you will have a good idea as to what they are; when each task is finished, a strand will disappear." To illustrate her statement, she lifted her wrist.

That movement – and the erratic sunlight – highlighted a small crystal bottle on Kya's belt. I frowned. I didn't have something like that, nor did any other Jedi I knew. _I guess it's safe to assume that she needs it, like she does the bracelet; but what does it do?_

"And the bottle?" I asked, keeping my eyes on her.

Her smile disappeared at once, and she looked at me, shock spilling into her expression. I smiled in return. "I'm not a Jedi Master for nothing," I said gently.

Kya's smile returned as well. "Like I said before, you rubbed off on my Master way too much. He said something just like that before . . . before, well, this. Anyway, the substance in the bottle does whatever I ask of it. Heal. Destroy. You get the general idea."

I nodded my understanding, but nearly stopped in footsteps as a premonition washed over me. "And what, Padawan, happens if you fail in your tasks?" I asked, trying to keep my tone light.

Kya's smile faded slowly, and her eyes narrowed, her expression hardening. "I will join the Force," she said flatly.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~

I ignited my lightsaber as the battle began. Mindful of the Council's orders, my Master and I did not directly attack the droids, but we did turn their bolts back on them when they targeted the Queen, who was in disguise once again.

Kya, of course, went directly against this, and used her power to fight the droids directly. I heard my Master shout something at her, presumably reminding her of our orders. I only heard her reply: "The Council never said that to me, Master Jinn! Only to you and Obi-Wan!" I saw my Master shake his head in defeat.

But the Naboo were in admiration of Kya, who was utilizing Djem So and Ataru to destroy as many droids as possible. She was also channeling all the energy from the droids that she destroyed into her energy reserves, which she then transferred to us after the intense fire stopped.

We soon took the hanger after Captain Panaka's group, with Amidala's handmaiden dressed up as a decoy, burst in from the other opening and we were able to catch the droids in the crossfire. Then Amidala and the Captain discussed something shortly before moving off toward the hangar doors.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Anakin stand up from the cockpit of a starfighter, but didn't say anything; I didn't have to. My Master noticed immediately.

"Hey, where are you going?" Anakin shouted, starting to climb down. He stumbled back suddenly as I felt a surge in the Force. I spun to Kya, whose hand was outstretched, her expression determined.

"Annie, you stay there!" my Master ordered firmly.

"But I – "

"Stay in that cockpit!" my Master snapped. Kya then added, "Anakin, please. _Stay_. Or, at least, stay _in_ the cockpit, understand?"

I didn't see what Anakin's response was, for the dark side surged then, just as the hangar's doors opened.

A lone person stood there, clad in black. Captain Panaka and Queen Amidala stopped immediately, training their blasters on him.

"We'll handle this," my Master said, making his way to the front. I followed, and Kya started off after me.

"We'll take the long way," I heard someone say, but I didn't concentrate on them, focusing on the Sith in front.

"Kya, go with them," my Master said, throwing off his cloak. "Protect the Queen."

Kya threw away her cloak, igniting her lightsaber again. "No," she said firmly. She faced the Sith. Her tone turned low and dangerous. "Darth Maul. I should have expected Sidious to send you here. Are you so willing to face three Jedi?"

"Numbers do not determine victory," the Sith said, the first words I'd ever heard from him. "Ah, the mysterious Padawan. And with no Master to protect you. Mine will be pleased to see you."

Kya didn't reply, but her eyes hardened and her grip on her lightsaber tightened.

For a moment, all was silent as he ignited his lightsaber . . . and two blades shot out. I started in surprise, but then I heard Kya broadcast, _Only two can attack at a time. I can use my skills, but you will have to bear the brunt of the attack._

My Master nodded; Kya had already spoken to me of her 'skills' during our journey toward the city. I agreed reluctantly, and not a moment too soon.

The Sith attacked then, and the duel of fates . . . began.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~

As we fought the Sith along the catwalks, I let Master Jinn and Obi-Wan take the brunt of the attacks. As we had agreed earlier, I was slowly draining the Sith's reserves of energy. I transferred the majority into Master Jinn, who was tiring, and me, because it was hard to drain someone so powerful. Obi-Wan got the least, but he needed the least and refused the rest, forcing me to absorb it.

Maul suddenly leaped onto anther catwalk. Obi-Wan and Master Jinn leapt up immediately, striking as soon as they landed. I followed in a moment, striking at his back.

Maul seemed to anticipate it, but was only able to parry, because of the threat that Obi-Wan posed. I hung back again, admiring the swordsmanship of Master Jinn, who was a fine Ataru stylist. That mistake cost me dearly when Obi-Wan was kicked off the catwalk.

"Obi-Wan!" I shouted, darting forward. I swung at Maul's head, engaging fiercely and not holding back. Maul backed up as Master Jinn and I now worked together. I brought the advantage of more youth and freshness, for I had not really participated in the earlier fighting.

Master Jinn took advantage of Maul's now unsteady footing to knock him off the catwalk, and without pause leaped down after him. Maul fell hard, and I used the Force to generate a harder landing for him. That knocked the wind out of him, and I sucked up as much energy as I could.

Then I reached out, slowed Obi-Wan's fall, and let him land on a catwalk only about two levels down, not the four in my world. Maul picked himself up, and went into retreat, entering the force fields. I groaned at this move, but darted after him, taking Obi-Wan's place.

But as the force fields entered, I hung back again, speeding Obi-Wan's run so that he was now only about three shields behind us. Master Jinn shot me a look, deactivating his blade as he knelt for a rest. I turned, and met Obi-Wan's worried gaze.

_Is he holding up?_ he asked, fidgeting with anxiety and concern. I shrugged. _He won't say, but I am funneling energy into all of us. Except Maul, of course_, I replied.

Maul eyed us with contempt. He hadn't noticed yet that I was sucking his energy; he was probably had too much bloodlust and dark side energy to notice it yet.

I increased the flow of energy into me, as Maul's glare fell on me. I knelt next to Master Jinn, lightly touching him on the shoulder. It was much easier for me to transfer energy when I had a bond or physical touch to establish a connection. Since I had no bond with Master Jinn, I had settled with a physical touch instead.

Then the force fields came down. Master Jinn and I lunged as one at Maul, startling him our intensity. Master Jinn seemed to have found a reserve of strength, and his experience and strength coupled with my vigor and determination actually allowed us to drive Maul back, forcing him on the defensive. But as Master Jinn's strength began to again diminish, Maul took more and more of the offensive.

I grunted in surprise as Maul's hand lashed out suddenly and unexpectedly, knocking me to the ground and leaving Master Jinn at Maul's mercy. Maul slammed his handle into Master Jinn's chin, and the Jedi staggered backward, dazed.

As I looked up at the suddenly slow-moving scene, only one thing registered – _"You must defy the fate set in stone for Qui-Gon Jinn."_

Time seemed to slow. The Force swirled around me, aiding me in leaping up . . .

. . . and I slammed into Master Jinn, shoving him out of the path of Maul's blade . . .

. . . and taking the killing blow.


	21. Chapter 19

I am so sorry for the long wait between Chapter 18's cliffhanger and the resolution here in Chapter 19. My deepest apologies to all of my readers. Here is the next chapter, for I finally had computer access to post this chapter, but unfortunately you must wait until I can get on again before I can post the next chapter. Sorry again, but I won't babble any more. Chapter 19!

* * *

_**Chapter Nineteen**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I charged down the hallway as the force fields disengaged and flickered out of existence, but even though I threw myself at them, I didn't make it past the last gate in time.

I watched, my heart leaping with every close miss, as my Master and Kya fought alone. My Master was tiring, and although Kya was a powerful fighter, draining energy had in turn drained her strength.

My heart leaped again as Kya was shoved to the ground, leaving both her and my Master vulnerable. Kya had no defense on the ground, and my Master couldn't hold up long alone.

Then Maul slammed his hilt into my Master's chin. _NO!_ I felt my mental cry echo in the Force, certain that Maul would deliver the killing blow then and there, and hating myself for not being there to help.

But then Kya leaped in the way, shoving my Master into the wall . . . and taking the killing blow instead of him.

"Kya!" I screamed. Kya sank to her knees, anger and pain warring on her expression, and I cried out in sudden pain as she broke our bond, saving me from feeling her pain. Maul withdrew slightly his blade slightly, and for once I glimpsed surprise on the face of a Sith. Kya looked up at him then, and in a sudden act of defiance slashed her blade through his handle.

As she collapsed on the floor, Maul cast away the useless part of his handle. My Master leapt back into the fight with a new vigor. Maul was caught off-guard, and he had only one blade, so now my Master had the advantage over him.

I felt Kya reach out, and, with an enormous push of the Force, make the force fields deactivate. I now leapt into the fight, and took the brunt of the attacks. Maul suddenly became slower and less confident, and now I felt new energy rushing into me.

_Kya!_ My mind knew her touch, and I could feel her exhaustion; she was pushing herself to the limit, giving us energy that cost her dearly, especially with her wound. _Kya, stop!_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
Pain erupted all around me as Maul's blade went through my stomach. I fell to the floor in a daze that only cleared long enough for me to register one thing – the fact that my duty was not yet done. I could sense that the strand representing saving Master Jinn was still there; faint and thin, but present.

And for good reason. After all, I could still hear the sounds of lightsabers clashing, and Obi-Wan and Master Jinn wouldn't fight each other, so Maul was still around.

Translation – Maul could still kill Master Jinn before this duel was over, and my task wouldn't be done until Maul was put out of commission, one way or another.

So I reached out with my strength, fighting past the pain still lingering in my mind from breaking my bond with Obi-Wan, and released the force field that trapped him. That would give Master Jinn a better chance, since I did no good to him, lying on the floor with a lightsaber hole through me.

I heard Obi-Wan join the battle, and took a deep breath, wincing as new pain rushed through me from the action. I steeled myself and began pouring my strength into drawing on Maul's reserves and channeling them into both Jedi. I felt Obi-Wan's resistance, but overrode it; his survival was more important at the moment. I wasn't too trusting of Lady Elizabeth on protecting him, even though in my world he had played a big part.

I closed my eyes, and used some energy to 'see' what was going on. Obi-Wan suddenly struck low, at Maul's feet, while his Master lunged overheard. Maul blocked Obi-Wan . . .

. . . and got himself thumped hard in the head with Master Jinn's hilt.

Elation filled me as Maul dropped like a stone, and I immediately drew together a plan that would allow the Council to examine Maul safely. If the potion in my bottle could heal and destroy at my command, surely it could knock Maul out and keep him that way.

I released my 'sight' when I felt Obi-Wan reach my side and gently raise me. I opened my eyes and tried to smile. He looked tired and horrified. Master Jinn joined him after a moment of making sure that Maul wouldn't pop back up again anytime soon.

"Kya," Obi-Wan said, his voice breaking. "Kya, _why_ did you break the bond?"

"When . . . this happened to Master Jinn," I said softly, "you felt the pain through the bond . . . you shared. You . . . let go of your connection to the Living Force . . . and nearly fell in that hole. . . You were lucky to live."

Master Jinn laid a hand on mine. "I am in your debt, Kya," he said seriously.

I sighed. "Obi-Wan . . . give me the bottle," I said, fighting to get the words out. I felt him place it in my hands at once.

"Heal all wounds," I commanded softly.

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
Kya tipped some of the liquid onto her wound, and some more into her mouth. I gasped as the wound began healing immediately, and in a few moments, it was gone.

Kya sat up then, and grimaced from dizziness. I felt the Force swirl around Obi-Wan and Kya, and the bond between them was remade. I saw my apprentice sigh in relief, and Kya leaned against him for a moment, closing her eyes. For the first time since the duel began, I saw the two apprentices relax slightly, their breathing evening and their muscles relaxing.

The Sith chose that moment to grunt.

Kya leaped up, her lightsaber flashing into existence. Obi-Wan and I were but a second behind her. The Sith twitched, but then stopped moving.

Kya summoned the bottle to her hand as I asked, "What are we going to do with him? I doubt anyone here has a Force-inhibitor on hand, and I don't want to kill him – "

" – but if we let him live, we may not be able to hold him," Obi-Wan finished for me.

Kya smiled. "You forget; this potion does what I command. If it healed that monster of a wound on me, it can probably act as a Force-inhibitor."

I shared an elated look with Obi-Wan as she stepped forward and said, "Keep all unconscious 'till administered the antidote."

As soon as she tipped it into the Sith, all of his movements ceased. I relaxed my posture, as did Obi-Wan, and we both placed our lightsabers back on our belts. But Kya apparently wasn't finished, for she then said, "Act as a Force-inhibitor until administered the antidote."

"Well done, Kya," I said softly.

Kya merely nodded, but an exhausted smile creased her face. Obi-Wan frowned. "What's the antidote?" he asked.

Kya held up the bottle. "The antidote is this, but it must be willing given," she replied. "So if another Sith tries to threaten someone to get me to do it, it won't work." Kya grinned. "It's pretty much foolproof."

It was then that I noticed that one of the strands in her bracelet had vanished. My breath caught, and Kya's words rang in my ears – _"How can you be Qui-Gon Jinn? He was killed over thirteen years ago."_ And then, when she had seen Obi-Wan – _"Why do you have the braid again? . . . Qui-Gon's dead, you told me yourself, he died thirteen years ago during the Naboo War at Maul's hand."_

_So, this creature – Maul – he must have killed me._ I looked at my Padawan. _Oh, that must have been terrible for him_, I thought sadly. Obi-Wan and I – despite our many disagreements – were father and son. For him to lose me . . .

" – was agony," Kya finished the thought. I glanced at her, and thought for the first time that I may have had a taste of what her daily life must have been like.

My Padawan's own breath caught when he caught the train of our thoughts. "So . . . he died?" Obi-Wan asked, his voice cracking.

Kya nodded. "Every Padawan knew about it," she said softly. "It was basically a legend among us; we all knew about the Naboo melting pit where the great Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was killed, and where Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi killed the Sith. A mere apprentice, succeeding where Jedi Masters have failed for centuries."

Obi-Wan flushed at the praise she was giving, and I nearly did as well. _Great Jedi Master?_ I mused. _I guess the Council appreciated me enough when I was gone._

"And then, when Count Dooku left the Jedi Order, we all thought that it was because you were killed," Kya continued, and I blinked in shock. "Yes, he left. But that story will wait for another time."

Kya commanded, "Heal all wounds and replenish strength." Then she tossed the bottle to Obi-Wan.

"Kya, I can't," he protested. "That would be a waste."

Kya glared at him. "Drink it, or I'll – "

"Alright, alright," Obi-Wan said, holding up his hands in mock surrender, laughing. I laughed along with him, and Kya smiled, sagging against a wall.

~ _Darth Sidious_ ~  
Waves of agony suddenly washed through the Force. I felt a growl rise in my lips as I recognized the Force-signature now fading away – Maul.

_So, my foolish apprentice, you fell to the Jedi._ I had always known of this weakness of Maul's – his overconfidence and arrogance where the Jedi were concerned. It was this weakness that had led him to lose to Jinn on Tatooine, and now it had apparently cost my former apprentice his life.

I wondered if Maul had managed to take down any of the Jedi with him. For the most part, I doubted it. Maul had been facing three Jedi at once. Jinn and Kenobi had been partners for over twelve years, and were fiercely loyal to and protective of each other. However . . . if one had died, the other would be all the easier to corrupt.

But I also had to take into account the other apprentice. I did not know who she was, save that she was an apprentice, for the Padawan braid the Jedi wore to advertise their position had been displayed prominently on her shoulder. She, I believed, was going to be the easiest to corrupt out of all of them, save the child Jinn had brought. Her strength in the Force far dwarfed my own, I had sensed, and she was quick to anger. Her mind reacted; she did not truly think.

That was one of the Jedi's greatest weaknesses, along with their compassion for the weak and blindness. Sith _thought_; Sith _planned_; Sith _prepared_. Jedi did none of these things. Jedi received calls for aid and jumped in without second thought.

That was why they were all the easier to trap.

* * *

P.S. - To Unlawful tears, I'm glad you like my story, and here's the next chapter. But I'm afraid that events are beyond my control - apparently the Force has other ideas for me right now. Until the next time I get computer access and post a new chapter, may the Force with be with you!


	22. Chapter 20

My apologies for such a long wait. We have given up and are sending my computer to an expert - who hopefully can fix it - and so I must be restricted permanently to the library until I get it back.

Also, I have changed the last bit of Chapter 19 - it used to be Anakin, but now it is someone else.

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
"This place is too quiet."

Kya frowned at Obi-Wan's words. "Things have always been quiet here," she retorted. "This is _Naboo_, Obi-Wan Kenobi, in case you have forgotten."

Obi-Wan ignored the pointed barb. "Yes, but if the Queen wants to capture the Viceroy and end this conflict, _quiet_ probably isn't a good thing."

"Um . . . not exactly."

"And what do you mean by that?" My apprentice's face was skeptical of Kya's words that quiet could mean victory.

"Well, the only way that the Queen could have gained access to the Viceroy is if she surrendered," Kya said matter-of-factly.

I blinked in surprise. _Surrendered?_ Then I smiled as I saw the logic in the Queen's move. By surrendering, Amidala would have gained unobstructed access to the Viceroy.

I guessed that Obi-Wan didn't see that immediately by the strength of his reaction. "You mean the Queen has _surrendered_?" he yelped, spinning around to effectively block Kya's path. Diplomacy and political maneuvers were not my apprentice's strong suit.

Kya stopped calmly. "Actually, Obi-Wan, Queen Amidala surrendered a while ago. Or, at least, she _should_ have."

Just then, the doors we had just been about to pass through burst open. We all leaped backwards and retreated behind the columns, snatching our lightsabers out. Someone dressed in the royal Naboo battle uniform and wearing royal Naboo make-up went running past, blaster in hand. Armed Naboo guards followed, sending random blaster bolts over their shoulders in an attempt to hit or slow down the droids pursuing them.

I exchanged a quick glance with Obi-Wan before launching myself into combat. Between the three of us Jedi, the tide was quickly turned and the droids decimated. The Naboo began to relax, some sitting while others slumped against the columns – all were clearly tired.

I saw Kya turn the person dressed as the Queen. "Sabé, is that you?" she questioned softly. Her voice was so low that even my Force-enhanced senses barely caught her question.

The handmaiden – Sabé, I guessed, was indeed her name – nodded shortly. "We need to get back to the throne room. The door won't hold up forever."

"What door?" My apprentice joined the conversation, glancing quickly at Kya to make sure she was all right. Kya ignored him, all of her attention focused on Sabé.

"Her Majesty pretended to surrender," Sabé explained. I sensed a flare of "told you so" from Kya to Obi-Wan; the latter scowled playfully at the former, who merely grinned back. "I led all of the droids out, and she barricaded the door. But if I am correct, more droids will come, and the first thing they'll do is break down that door. It was not meant to withstand a full-scale invasion."

Kya nodded, already turning around to run to the Queen's aid. "Then we need to run. Fast."

~ _Padmé Amidala_ ~  
I held my breath as the door shuddered, but kept my expression neutral and my blaster steady. The Viceroy was going to remain my prisoner until this whole thing was sorted; I had no intention of allowing him to escape just because his droids were hammering at my door.

I saw other guards exchange wary looks; only Sabé and I had made the plans of her coming to "rescue" me, and no one else was prepared for what might happen afterward. Even Captain Panaka was starting to become tense, and I saw him edge ever so carefully towards me, ready as always to defend me.

Then, suddenly, everything fell silent.

"What are they doing?" the Viceroy blustered, the first words he'd spoken since we'd turned the tables on him. "Keep blasting the doors, you fools!"

"They cannot; not anymore," I countered calmly. Relief was sweeping over me. The droids stopping meant that they had been deactivated, and that meant that my pilots had succeeded!

The Viceroy tried to glare at me, but fear was creeping into his posture. He too knew what the deactivation of the droids implied, but he wasn't surrendering just yet.

"Activate communications," I ordered Captain Panaka. I didn't take my eyes off of the Viceroy, and did not allow my voice to reflect the slight fear that was welling up within me. What if I was wrong, and my pilots hadn't disabled the control ship? What if the droids were simply trying to blast in from another route? What if – ?

_Stop this_, I snarled at myself. _'What if's get you nowhere. Pay attention before the Viceroy takes advantage of your distraction._

"Your Majesty," Panaka said softly. The viewscreens flickered before me – _they were working_! I barely held back a huge sigh of relief as small cheers issued from my men, although they did not relax their guard on the Viceroy.

Just then, we all winced as the harsh sound of metal. It sounded as though someone was ripping apart and stomping on a Corusca gem. The sound seemed to come from everywhere and yet nowhere; the room seemed in perfect condition.

Then the door began to inch up, oh so slowly.

Centimeter by centimeter, it rose. With each new height, I felt the levels of fear and adrenaline rise in my blood. I could feel the tension in the air thickening rapidly, as the men prepared to shoot should the intruders turn out to be enemies. For my part, I kept my eyes – and my blaster – locked on the Viceroy.

"Ah, hello, Your Majesty. This situation seems to be under control."

This time I failed to keep the surprise off of my face as Kya ducked under the still rising door. Others quickly followed – Padawan Kenobi, Sabé, and so many others. My heart leapt in my chest. _No one _was hurt! Master Jinn was the last to duck under, and when he did, the door abruptly ceased its abnormal movement.

"Funny," I murmured to Kya, who was now standing next to me, as I lowered my blaster. The guards who had run with Sabé now had the Viceroy effectively trapped, and with three Jedi on our side everybody knew that there was no chance of escape for the treacherous Trade Federation people. "I could swear that my officers jammed that door."

Kya grinned in a slightly sheepish manner, making her seem younger than the adept and powerful Jedi she'd been in the hangar when she'd destroyed the droids. "Well, uh . . . Let's just say that the Jedi powers of persuasion worked in this case."

I raised a skeptical eyebrow. "On the door? I assumed it was on living things only."

Kya laughed. "The ways of the Force are more diverse than you think, Your Majesty," she replied. "Well! Now that you have successfully managed to capture the Viceroy and we have successfully managed to detain that warrior, let us see how the pilots fared, shall we?"

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
As I brought the Naboo starfighter in for a landing, nervousness made my hands shake. I didn't regret blowing up the control ship – _that_ had been _amazing_! – but I did regret making such a big scene.

The reactions of the pilots as I got down were priceless. They were grown men, yet they gawked at me as though I was Padmé-uh, Queen Amidala herself.

"Annie!" came a joyful cry, and I turned just in time to see Padmé run up to me. She turned to the pilots with a slight frown, but then someone blurted, "The kid did it. He . . . He saved us. _He_ blew up the control ship!"

Padmé turned to me, the expression on her face a hilarious mix of happiness and disbelief, but as she opened her mouth to say something, the door opened once more, and all three Jedi strode in. After that, everything seemed to pass by in a large blur – Kya squeezing me in a hug and congratulating me; Obi-Wan ruffling my hair; Master Qui-Gon smiling at me; the celebrations and congratulations of the pilots around me.

Even though some of the people smiling at me were very condescending to my victory, I – for the first time – was able to ignore them. I had earned the respect of the people that meant the most to me with this stunt, however crazy it had been – Master Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Kya, . . . and Padmé.


	23. Chapter 21

_**Chapter Twenty-One**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
"Thank goodness that's over," I heard Kya mutter under her breath. I could hear the barely concealed venom in her voice and guessed that her expression probably reflected her tone's sentiments. "Blasted politicians."

I heard my Master chuckle quietly from behind us as the door slid shut. We had all just escaped the clutches of the patronizing and praising Senators that had accompanied Chancellor Palpatine to congratulate Queen Amidala on her freeing Naboo from the Trade Federation. It had been my Master who had cited the Jedi Council, giving us a reason to leave after over two hours of listening to oozing overtures from the Senators.

I guessed that my Master had sensed Kya's growing irritation and decided it was best to leave before her temper got the best of her.

"You really do not like politicians, do you, Padawan?" my Master asked gently, his eyes twinkling as he eyed the scowling Kya. The Council had indeed summoned him as we had left the politicians, but he was going to wait a while to allow the Council to clear their minds after their discussion about Anakin Skywalker.

Kya shook her head, and the scowl seemed to fade somewhat. "No, I don't," she said simply. "Politicians became the Order's enemy, not our friend – and in the end, they were our destruction."

I frowned. Whenever Kya began speaking about her past, I could sometimes almost glimpse the events in her eyes, brought to live by her vivid tales. I could tell that it was a past that haunted her, that followed her – and that scared her. I closed my eyes, well understanding her fear. Kya was scared that she would fail, and be forced to relive everything she had experienced.

Only, if it happened this time, she would relive it with the knowledge that she had had a chance to prevent it – and that she had failed miserably.

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
Mace leaned back in his chair, his expression as serious as I'd ever seen it. "You truly believe that your Padawan is ready for the Trials, then?" he asked.

I held back an impatient sigh. I was tempted to shout that if I hadn't made that clear on Coruscant, than there was no other clearer way to tell them. But that would be highly foolish of me to do; Jedi were not supposed to let their tempers get the better of them.

So I settled for nodding and answering calmly, "Yes. What Obi-Wan does not yet know, I can not teach him."

"Such as?" Mace prompted.

"He still needs to learn to keep his connection to the Living Force open," I said, repeating what I had stated on Coruscant. "Like many of his peers, sometimes he focuses on the outcomes rather than focusing on the here and now."

"But the ability to do that will come with time and experience," Adi cut in. "Few of our new Knights possess that ability, and those that do in turn have trouble focusing on the consequences of their actions."

I winced. That had been a direct jab at me, reminding me that while I was skilled in listening to the Living Force, sometimes I too forgot to look ahead and properly consider the consequences of my actions.

Mace flashed Adi a quelling look before saying, "Your words match the thoughts of the Council concerning your apprentice. We are satisfied that Obi-Wan Kenobi is ready to take the Trials."

_This is going to take some time to get used to._ On one hand, I was happy to see that the Council thought Obi-Wan ready to become a Knight – I believed quite firmly that Obi-Wan was as good as he was going to get as my apprentice and was more than ready to acknowledge him as my colleague rather than my apprentice when he passed. On the other hand, I would be sad to dissolve our partnership, which had endured many trials and successes alike.

"_However_," Mace said sharply, cutting in my thoughts and drawing my attention. "However, we will still meet and discuss this with your apprentice at a later time. His experience with the Sith may have changed his opinion concerning the Trials, and we would like to see if it has."

"I am sure that it has not."

"Your decision, that is not," Yoda said reprovingly. "Ready, you may think your apprentice, but ready, the Council may decide he is not."

That was typical of Yoda, but I highly doubted that he actually meant it this time. The underlying purpose of him speaking now was more to remind me of my place than to make the Council second-guess its faith in my apprentice.

I inclined my head at Yoda, signaling to him that I had understood. But now that the matter of Obi-Wan was settled, my mind moved on – what about Anakin? The Council had not said anything concerning Anakin since the matter had been closed by Mace on Coruscant.

But apparently Mace had other ideas than talking about Anakin Skywalker. "Has Padawan Ranor said anything else about the Sith you fought?" he questioned.

_So, he believes her now_, I thought. But I wasn't really surprised. After all the evidence, the Council could hardly keep its stance about the Sith being nonexistent. "Yes," I answered. "She has mentioned, in passing, that the name of the Sith is Darth Maul."

"_Darth_ Maul," Ki-Adi-Mundi murmured as the expressions of the Masters darkened. We all understood what the title _Darth_ signified. "That title identifies him as a Sith Lord."

"Always two there are," Yoda said solemnly. "A master, and an apprentice."

"So now the question becomes: which one do we have?" Mace finished.

"I'm afraid only Padawan Ranor may know that," I replied, grasping the implied question at once. "And she does not like to discuss the Sith."

Mace sighed. He had obviously understood my warning about pushing Kya Ranor about the Sith when he finally got around to asking her.

But I, on the other hand, was done discussing the Sith. "Have you made your decision concerning Anakin Skywalker?" I asked pointedly.

I saw Mace share a resigned look with Yoda. "You still believe that Skywalker is the child of the prophecy, then?" Mace asked, finally broaching the topic.

"I have no doubt that the Force intended us to find Anakin because he is the Chosen One," I answered. "His midi-chlorian count is higher than any Jedi's, and for no reason – his mother is barely Force-sensitive, and the boy has no father."

"Very well, Qui-Gon," Mace relented. "The Council has spoken with Anakin Skywalker, and we have agreed that he is to be initiated into the Jedi Order and will be trained. However, we have yet to agree on who will be his Master."

I fought hard to keep my expression neutral. "I made it clear that I am willing to take the boy as my apprentice," I reminded him.

"Yes, you did," Mace replied. "But that does not mean that it is in his, yours, your apprentice's, or even the Jedi Order's best interest. We will summon you and give you our answer later on."

* * *

Cliffhanger! Now, readers: Should I still have Anakin apprenticed to Qui-Gon?

Oh, and I have added some more conversation between Obi-Wan and Kya in Chapter 2 to illustrate more of their Master-Padawan relationship, as requested. More illustrations will be shown in memories and future chapters.


	24. Chapter 22

_**Chapter Twenty-Two**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
"Anakin, _hold still_," I ordered with an exasperated sigh. Anakin sighed as well, and assumed a solitary position once more as I started all over again.

The Jedi Council had arrived yesterday, and the Masters had decided to hold meetings. Long and drawn out meetings that were so annoying I had dubbed them "interrogations" within the first hour as they debated and talked about what had really happened during our duel with the Sith.

First they had spoken with all three of us together – Master Jinn had done most of the talking. Now they had arranged to speak with each of us personally and alone. Anakin's meeting had been held immediately after their arrival and had been a lot longer than his first meeting on Coruscant, but this time they had not passed judgment – or at least had not told Anakin of their decision.

Master Jinn's had begun late last night once they had finished with Anakin, and after breaking to sleep, they had started at it again early this morning. I had had little doubt that they were really pressing him to see if he was ready to take on Anakin Skywalker, the prophesied Chosen One of prophecy, as an apprentice.

And apparently the Masters had been satisfied with what they had learned. Anakin had demonstrated the type of courage and inherent strength of the Force the Jedi looked for the Trial in Skill and Trial of Courage when he had blown up the Droid Control Ship, and the loss of his mother was the start of the Trial of the Flesh. He was Jedi material, they had finally concluded, albeit reluctantly. And so it was agreed that after a year of training at the Jedi Temple, Master Jinn could take Anakin on officially as his next apprentice. In the meantime, though, Anakin would be housed with the trainees and dress and act and be taught alongside them. The only difference between them would be that Anakin would already carry the Padawan braid.

Which was exactly what I was trying to help Anakin make.

But the boy – and his hair – were stubborn, and Anakin's squirming wasn't helping my concentration. As the braid began to form under my fingers, I allowed my thoughts to wander momentarily. Obi-Wan's own interrogation had started this morning after Master Jinn's had concluded, and I wondered what would happen inside the chambers. But before I could form anymore thoughts, Anakin started moving again.

I sighed and gave up. The braid was almost done anyway, and it wasn't going to get much longer. And besides, the boy still had a year to grow and tie off his own proper Padawan braid.

"Okay, I get the message, Anakin," I said, tying off the braid. "I'm done; go on, out. I think I've had enough of your squirming for the whole year you'll be spending at the Temple."

Anakin's relieved smile vanished. "Do you really think they'll let me be an apprentice to Master Qui-Gon?" he asked in a low whisper, fiddling with his new braid.

I swatted at his hand. "Stop playing with it," I ordered. "The parade will start soon – do you want to be the only person out of place?"

"No, but – oh, answer my question, Kya, please!"

I fixed Anakin with a stern look. "First of all, _Initiate_ Skywalker, now that you are part of the Jedi Order, you need to address everyone by the proper titles. You can't call me 'Kya' anymore."

"Oh." That silenced the boy momentarily. But he rallied almost at once. "Then what do I call you?"

"Padawan Ranor. At least, call me that in public. That _includes_ in front of the Jedi Council. Oh, and the same thing goes for Obi-Wan."

"But _you_ just called him Obi-Wan," Anakin pointed out sourly. His expression was slightly put-out; no doubt he feared trying to remember everyone's proper name and title. On Tatooine he had addressed his friends as his peers, his master as his master, and his mother as his mother. No other titles had been needed. But Tatooine's standards, especially considering it was a backwater world, were not those of the Jedi Order.

"I can, because we are both apprentices," I explained shortly, starting to lose my patience under the boy's relentless questions. "And because I am speaking to you in private. _You_ are still officially an Initiate, even though a Master has already chosen you. Now, _out_, Skywalker."

"Yes, Kya – uh, Padawan Ranor."

I groaned as the door closed behind Anakin. _Stars above, the boy is smart, but sometimes he just so _trying_. . . _Frustrated and tired, I crossed the room to my bed and flopped down on it. I hoped that the Council would make Obi-Wan a Knight or proclaim him ready to take the Trials. That was the path he was meant to take, I just knew it. But he hadn't passed any of the Trials in this duel, because he had never fought alone and hadn't lost anyone. The worst case scenario would be that he would continue his apprenticeship. But if Master Jinn was due to take Anakin has his apprentice in a year's time, surely that meant they were ready to promote Obi-Wan?

I closed my eyes and decided to try and meditate. The parade would be starting soon, and it wouldn't do for a Jedi to look disheveled and grumpy.

A light knock on my door made me groan again. I wasn't ready to deal with company so soon – I was still recovering from Anakin – and I definitely wasn't ready to undergo another, more private interrogation from Masters Yoda and Windu. But I wasn't in a position to refuse them entrance either.

I raised myself into a sitting position on the bed and called, "Come in!" I arranged my expression into a calmer one and smothered my irritated feelings with heavy shields. Internally, I grumbled, _Why didn't my Master ever tell me that even in times of peace there is no_ quiet –

But my thoughts were cut short by the appearance of Obi-Wan.

"Obi-Wan!" I said, leaping up. "How did the meeting go?"

Obi-Wan looked down. "It went fine, I guess," he said quietly before raising his eyes to meet mine again.

I glimpsed a hidden spark of laughter in his eyes and resisted the urge to shake him. "Quit teasing me, Kenobi, and tell me what they said!" I ordered, taking a threatening step forward.

Obi-Wan grinned teasingly. "Let's see if I remember. . ." He trailed off teasingly, his blue-grey eyes now sparking outright with mirth.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi, just tell me!"

He started laughing. "Okay, okay, Kya. They've agreed that I'm ready to take the Trials. I will start them as soon as we return to Coruscant."

I stared at him for a moment, wondering if he was just joking. Then it sunk in – _Obi-Wan was going to be Knighted._ I had succeeded in this venue, at least.

Racing over, I threw my arms around me. He tensed momentarily before returning the embrace, but I ignored it. "Well done," I told him sincerely, drawing back and smiling. "You've earned it. And I still get some time before I had to change my tone and address you as a Knight."

Obi-Wan smiled back down at me. "Well, it's thanks to you," he replied, pointedly ignoring my barb. "Without you, I doubt either of us would have survived Maul."

"You did last time."

"So? And come on, the parade's about to start."

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
As the Gungan Big Boss took the shimmering token from Queen Amidala's hands and held it over his head, booming "Peace!" for all to hear, cheers rose from the crowd. I glimpsed small smiles crawling across the faces of the Jedi Council Masters beside me, but the two Padawans at my side were more open and their smiles were rivaled only by Queen Amidala's and Anakin's.

Anakin was now dressed in Jedi attire, and a Jedi Padawan braid hung down his shoulder, signaling to all the universe that the once slave boy of a backwater world was now part of the elite order of Jedi guardians. I rested a hand on his shoulder and smiled down at my future apprentice. I had no doubt who I had to thank for Anakin's changed appearance – Kya.

I turned my head to thank Kya just as I saw Obi-Wan take her hand, smiling broadly at her. She smiled back, but her smile was smaller, distracted.

The sight startled me out of my private thoughts following the Council's discussion with me. Although I had been watching Obi-Wan and Kya, I hadn't really paid really close attention since the incident on the way back to Naboo. For the most part, I had been trying to understand the complicated bond the two apprentices shared. Now that the bond was back, it was stronger than ever.

In short, the bond had been the prompting of an intense internal argument. I had long known that my skills lay in the Living Force, and that I did not view attachment as a bad thing – so long as it was selfless. So at first I had seen little harm in the fact that Kya and Obi-Wan shared a powerful bond. The Force, I knew, always had its own purposes for all of us.

However, I was also against the bond. Both were apprentices of the Order, and of all the Jedi most subject to the decisions of the Jedi Council. And the Jedi Council, I knew, would not approve of such a bond between them, because it could possibly lead to a relationship that all Jedi were forbidden to enter.

I had loved another Jedi once too, and while Tahl had made me whole in life, her death had also nearly caused my fall from the light. I didn't want either Kya or Obi-Wan to feel that pain. Kya had already felt the pain caused by a bond broken by death, and I doubted that her self-control was strong enough to prevent her from falling should she fall in love and see Obi-Wan die. She was simply too young for that kind of control, and I doubted she would turn to any of the Jedi Masters for aid. And Obi-Wan already had had a brush with love, resulting in a broken friendship between him and Siri Tachi.

But then again, everything happened for a reason. Unfortunately, the Jedi Council that preached that would not accept that as a reason for two Jedi Padawans falling in love.

_I need to speak to them_, I thought, glancing once more at the two apprentices. Obi-Wan had now engaged Kya in a conversation, although he had at least let go of her hand. _I need to speak to both of them, separately, before the Jedi Council notices._

~ _Darth Sidious_ ~  
I sat back, frowning slowly. Ever since Jinn had given me the name of the female apprentice – Kya Ranor – I had decided to initiate a background search on her. I was using every available source of information I had to discover more about her.

And I found _nothing_.

There was nothing on Ranor. Usually, Jedi could be traced back to their homeworlds and their families via their surname. Then, from there, I could learn more about them, about their strengths and their weakness, their likes and dislikes, and most importantly – what they valued most. Not so for Ranor.

The only thing I could find about the surname Ranor was that it had been the name of a wealthy and affluent family on Alderaan whose last patriarch had served as an advisor and aide to Prince Bail of the Organa House, who betrothed to Breha of the Antilles House. . .

The aide and his wife, an artist, had had no children, and had actually been celebrating a pregnancy. Unfortunately, six months into the pregnancy, all had died in a speeder crash. The aide had died instantly; the wife, sometime later at a hospital. There were no reports on the condition on the unborn child, but for the most part it was implied that the child had died with the mother.

_So. . . This Kya Ranor must have adopted a false identity. . . Pity she wasn't smart enough to do a background check, because now she is revealed._ I leaned forward just as the findings of the my latest search showed up – **There is no listing of any Jedi, past or present, with the name ****Kya Ranor****. End of search.**

I felt surprise wash through me. _Here_ was confirmation that the girl had adopted a false identity. _The Jedi must be protecting her for some reason. . ._ But there was no reason to protect her against me – at least, not any reason they knew yet. . .

_But no. . . _I frowned again, going over my memories of being introduced to the girl on Naboo alongside Skywalker, Kenobi, and Jinn. I had sensed no duplicity in Jinn when he had spoken her name, and Jinn would have no way of hiding such a lie from me.

_So now the question becomes – how do I get to her with such large gaps in my knowledge about her?_

I closed my eyes, allowing the Force to wash over me and fill me with its power, searching for some way in which I could gain control over this Kya Ranor. Then a sudden memory rose – at the conclusion of the parade, Kenobi had reached for Ranor's hand.

And Ranor had accepted it, had spoken to him easily, _had smiled at him_.

I felt a small smile cross my lips. _So, Kenobi might be her greatest weakness._ Compassion, I knew, was always the Jedi's greatest weakness. However, I knew that the affection between the two was small, otherwise it would not have so far escaped the notice and disapproval of the Council Masters. Even arrogant and blind as they were, they would have noticed _that_.

_So I must wait_, I concluded. I could not afford to drive Ranor from Kenobi's side with a failed attack. I would have to wait until the affection between them strengthened before I struck, otherwise she would distance herself from him in an effort to protect him. I had seen Jedi do it before, and Ranor, I had sensed, had already suffered personal losses – the severed and still healing Master-apprentice bond I had sensed in her mind was evidence to that.

But if not Kenobi, then whom? I wanted Ranor to be aware of my anger; I wanted her to _suffer_, for then and only then would she be ready to step onto the threshold between the light and dark and take the fateful plunge into the abyss below.

Was Jinn the one I needed? No, he wasn't close enough. And Jinn had many enemies – such an attack might be misinterpreted. I had no idea who her Master was, and wasn't going to bother doing another search that would most likely turn up empty.

_Skywalker._ The girl was protective of the boy; in accordance with that ridiculous Jedi Code and thus in the eyes of the Jedi, they were practically brother and sister. I could tell that Ranor would do anything to protect an innocent child.

_So, Skywalker it is._ I felt the smile grow. It was time to get to work.

* * *

Note: Kya is not really angry with Anakin in the upper scene, she's just stressed out and taking it out on him.


	25. Chapter 23

This chapter is dedicated to CrazyTenor42, who point-blank demanded and nagged me to put in a - well, you'll see what scene I mean below. (Note of warning: I absolutely suck and draw blanks when it comes to writing romantic scenes, so cut me some slack here, okay?)

* * *

_**Chapter Twenty-Three**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
"Where's Master Jinn?"

I glanced over at Kya as I sat down beside her on the grass. The Naboo were still celebrating their victory over the Trade Federation, and fireworks were still going off in the cities, lighting up the dark night sky with bursts of red and green and blue and gold. With the flickering lights of the fireworks, I could just see the outline of Kya, lying on the grass and gazing upward.

Kya had brought Anakin outside to watch the celebrations, and soon afterward my Master and I had joined her. However, after a couple hours watching fireworks, Anakin had grown both bored and sleepy. My Master had taken Anakin inside and I had gone with him, as I had seen through my Master's body language that he had wished to speak to me in private. But then the Council had summoned him via comlink, and with a sigh my Master had waved for me to rejoin Kya outside.

"The Council wished to speak with him," I answered.

Kya snorted, propping herself up on one elbow to better face me. "You mean _interrogate_ him again," she corrected. Then she let herself fall back down on the grass. "I wish the Council would stop bugging us and get on with investigating the Sith."

"I'm sure they're doing the best they can."

"Is their best enough?" Kya's eyes were closed now, and her voice was bitter and low. But there also some sort of dreamy aura around her, as though she wasn't really thinking about this and was – for the first time since I'd met her – speaking her true thoughts without tailoring or diplomacy.

It was a gift, I soon realized, that she didn't even realize she was giving. But for her to allow her guard to drop so low was also a gift – she was indicating that she trusted me. And trust, I knew, was the most important thing in war.

_So do you trust Kya in return?_ The question startled me. Up to that point I hadn't really settled down and sorted my feelings concerning Kya. Around her I felt sudden feelings that emerged at the oddest times and prompted the strangest actions – comforting her, helping to conceal her from the scrutiny of my fellow Jedi, and lately, celebrating with her during the parade.

Powerful indeed Kya was, and lethal and wary and conspicuous, but also vulnerable and hurting and beautiful. I knew that war had shattered Kya's innocence early, and had taught her, in the most brutal way, that to create a facade of power and strength was to survive. Yet being here – among the Jedi in a time of peace – seemed to be breaking Kya's shields bit by bit. Slowly she was relaxing, and revealing to us the emotional scars that she carried within and the volatile nightmares she had confronted every day – and then, in sleep, every night.

Kya had allowed me glimpses into her true self, and with tonight had allowed me a glimpse that almost gave me a chance to truly understand her and the world she lived in. She trusted me that much. Did I trust her to, in return, show her _my_ world?

I decided that, yes, I did.

But before I could speak, Kya seemed to recall herself and sat up abruptly. Even distant from her as I was, I could sense her guilt and self-condemnation emanating from her. _Her feelings must be really strong to leak past her shields._ "I'm sorry; I should not have said that. That was very tactless of me – "

"It was honest," I interrupted, turning to face her.

Kya wasn't reassured. "But still tactless. I should not have said that." The moment was gone, and she had once again withdrawn into her own world. Kya began to stand up, brushing the grass off of her dark robe and tossing back her hair.

I leapt up after her. "Kya – " I seized her arm just as she was nearly at the door. Applying a slight pressure to the arm, I got her to spin around and face me. Kya's hair flew as she spun to face me, finally settling around her shoulders as though it was silk draped delicately on them. Her blue eyes, shining even in the darkness, told me of her confusion and curiosity concerning my actions.

"What is it?" she asked, her eyes searching mine.

I just looked at her, not formulating any answer. All of my thoughts were running in circles now – there was no way I'd be able to answer her question. My throat felt dry. I was suddenly so conscious of everything about the two of us, yet at the same time the world around us seemed to fade out of my senses.

Kya seemed concerned by my lack of response. "Obi-Wan, what is it?" she repeated. I felt her hand – the same one whose arm I still held captive – touch my arm hesitantly. The slight movement propelled me into action.

So I leaned forward, drew her closer, and kissed her.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I stiffened in shock as Obi-Wan's lips met mine. Emotions flashed through my mind, leaving before I could even fully identity them. Shock. _What is going on?_ Fear. _What does he want from me in return?_ Anger. _How dare he do this without even asking?_

But before I could on any of these emotions, some instinct – one that left almost as shocked as when Obi-Wan had initially kissed me – made me close my eyes and kiss him back.

Obi-Wan's arm shifted, releasing mine and circling around to pull me closer. I could feel the warmth of his body through my tunic as I was pressed against him. But that was about all I could sense. The Force – and my breath – seemed to have temporarily abandoned me. I didn't feel anything else; I didn't see anything else; I didn't focus on anything else.

Just then, the voice of my Master entered my mind with shocking force, as though a Force-suggestion had somehow been transported across the veil separating him and me – _"Those of the Jedi Order do not form attachments and do not love."_

I yanked myself out of Obi-Wan's arms, breathing heavily and staring at him. I couldn't believe what I had just done. I had just risked everything I had worked so hard to earn – my career as a Jedi; my Master's approval; my reputation.

"This – This cannot be," I blurted out, desperate to speak before Obi-Wan spoke. I just knew that if he did, my self-control would flee – and the result would destroy the both of us. "I'm sorry."

Then I turned and fled, leaving him standing there behind me.

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
I started awake and sat bolt upright in my bed. Something . . . Something felt wrong, very wrong. Kya had mentioned something she called "Jedi danger sense", but she hadn't described it. All she had said was that Jedi could sense when they were in danger.

I didn't know what the Jedi danger sense felt like, but if the sensation was anything like what I felt now, it was no wonder it was almost impossible to sneak up on a Jedi. I felt like an icy wind had settled on me, giving me goose bumps. I could feel my heart pounding faster and faster. A sense of trepidation was slowly taking over my brain.

Then I heard footsteps, slow and deliberate . . . and heading straight towards my door. But before I could do anything more than gulp, the footsteps stopped and my door swung open to reveal . . . Obi-Wan.

The Jedi was dressed in the same way as he had in the parade, but now he held a glowstick, which illuminated his hand but cast a sharp shadow over his face. I breathed out in relief as he stepped towards me. Obi-Wan may not have liked me, but a Jedi would not harm me.

"Ah, you're still awake," Obi-Wan said, his voice low. "Come on; I want to show you something."

I looked up at him, my curiosity piqued. Was Obi-Wan overcoming his dislike of me? "What is it?" I asked at once.

Obi-Wan smiled and extended a hand. "You'll see. Now come on, before all the Masters awake and send us back to bed."

I followed him as we walked in silence and wished Kya was here. Kya seemed to be the only one who could bridge the gap between Obi-Wan and me, and I always felt safe around her. She seemed to take special care to remind me that the Jedi were all family and took care of each other.

Obi-Wan suddenly stopped and his head turned to look into a dark hallway. His free hand dropped to his lightsaber and he tensed. I stopped and looked around. _I see nothing. And I don't think this is what he meant to show me._

Then a figure cloaked in darkness emerged from the hallway. I gasped. It was the tattooed creature that had attacked Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan and Kya earlier, but they said they had taken care of it – how had it escaped?

Obi-Wan dropped the glowstick and activated his lightsaber at the same time that the tattooed creature lit up his own lightsaber. The glowstick turned off just in time for the red and blue of the lightsabers light up the hallway. Grinning menacingly, the creature approached Obi-Wan with a single-minded determination.

"Anakin, run!" Obi-Wan ordered.

His shout propelled me into action. I turned and ran as fast as my legs could carry me. Behind me, I heard the sounds of the lightsabers clashing along with grunts and cries as the two dueled for a second time.

I reached a fork in the corridors. _Left or right? Oh, which way is back to the others?_ I knew that I needed to reach the Jedi and raise the alarm. Kya had told me that only the combined effort of the three Jedi had prevailed over the creature back there; Obi-Wan needed reinforcements and the others needed to know.

Something whispered, "_Left._" I took the advice and fled down the left hallway. My senses – which I now knew to be promptings of the Force – had never failed me before.

The sounds of the duel grew fainter and fainter. Then I tripped over _something_ and went sprawling over the floor. Wincing, I picked myself up only to face . . . a dead end.

I stared at the wall. _What?_ The Force had never failed me before, saving my life several times during Pod races. So why in the universe had it failed me now?

"You are so naïve, Skywalker."

The voice made me start and whirl around to see a hooded figure standing there, a deactivated lightsaber in hand. I saw no sign of identification, but who else could it be? Obi-Wan did not address me by my surname.

"The Jedi will stop you," I said fiercely, try to hide the fear that was growing inside of me. "They defeated you once, and they will defeat you again."

The figure laughed, a high, cold, eerie sound that made shivers go down my spine. I hadn't imagined that such a creature could laugh, which made it all the scarier. The laugh seemed to echo in the corridor, blocking out the usual night sounds.

"Skywalker, Skywalker, Skywalker." The voice seemed to be reproving now, as though conveying the action of someone shaking their head in amused exasperation. "Oh, Skywalker. So blind, so young, so _naïve_."

The creature stepped closer, one hand raised for the hood. "The Jedi will not defeat me. Because, you see, I _am_ a Jedi."

And the hood fell as the lightsaber activated. The red light cast eerie shadows and was not strong enough to light up everything, but it did illuminate the face of my pursuer . . . Obi-Wan Kenobi. His eyes gleamed in the light, showing an almost animalistic side of him. The Force hung heavily around him, broadcasting darkness.

I backed away instinctively, knowing that my newfound skills weren't even close to be enough to defeat him. I, a new Initiate, would have no chance of defeating a skilled Jedi apprentice ready to be Knighted.

Obi-Wan laughed his eerie laugh again. "You can't run from me, Skywalker," he said simply, raising a hand and pointing at me.

I gasped as the air seemed to close around my throat, making me unable to breathe. I felt my feet leave the ground and wondered dazedly if I was falling. But, no, I couldn't be falling – I was rising in the air.

As darkness closed around my vision, I managed to gasp out, "What . . . are . . . you . . . doing . . . Obi-Wan?"


	26. Chapter 24

_**Chapter Twenty-Four**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I slid down the door as it shut. _I don't feel like myself anymore_, I thought, closing my eyes. My guard was down. My breathing was uneven. My heart was pounding. I couldn't believe that I had been so foolish as to let my guard drop down so low that someone could just – just do what Obi-Wan had done without me sensing their intent beforehand.

To kiss me.

_These are mistakes that Kya Ranor, Padawan to _Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi_, would never have made. If I am becoming someone other than her, how can I face him?_

I buried my face in my knees. I felt like the Padawan I had once been – alone, lost, scared, and in desperate need of a father figure. Last time, I had been lucky – Master Kenobi had come to my rescue and taken me under his wing. This time . . . This time I wasn't so sure anyone was coming to my rescue.

"Love _is_ a rather fickle thing, isn't it?"

The sound of the slightly amused voice made me jump to my feet. If my heart had been pounding before, it was drumming now. _Are you serious? _Another_ person has managed to sneak up on me?_

Then I scowled and let my hand fall from where it had jumped to my lightsaber hilt. "Lady Elizabeth," I said sourly.

A laugh. "I trust you just had an _interesting_ experience?"

I squinted at her; although I recognized her voice, her face lay in such shadows that I could barely make out her expression. Then the words sunk in. "_What?!_" I shouted. "You _planned_ this to happen?!"

Lady Elizabeth had a laughing fit. I crossed my arms, severely annoyed. Honestly, how much more was she going to play with me before she gave me a straight answer? Wasn't it enough that she had dumped me over a decade in the past without warning?

Finally her laughs subsided. "No, no, _no_, apprentice; you misunderstand me. _I_ had absolutely nothing to do with the apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi falling in love with you."

"But you still find it amusing?"

"Of course. Apprentice, how did you somehow manage to not understand this task?"

"The task was to help Anakin understand the true meaning of love, not have someone fall in love with me!" I exclaimed. "And with _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ of all people!"

Lady Elizabeth held up a calming hand. "Peace, apprentice, peace. Let me ask _you_ a question. I understand that you yourself sometimes doubted the Code when it came to attachments. May one dare ask _why_?"

I frowned. _Where is she going with this?_ Still, I dutifully answered, "The Masters of the Council are wise, but in the matters of attachments they are inexperienced. Sometimes I wonder why we trust them to judge us when they have never learned what it feels like."

"Exactly, apprentice. So how would you be able to tell Anakin Skywalker the true meaning of love if you had never experienced it yourself?"

I bit my lip. She was right. So, completely, totally _right_. There was no way my message would get across to Anakin unless it was genuine. . . That was why Skywalker had always not listened to the other Jedi – and my Master – when they had lectured him on love.

Lady Elizabeth motioned for me to sit beside her. I did so, noticing with a frown that even being closer to her did not impact the shadows that still shielded her face from my view.

"Kya, listen to me. The Jedi have ruled themselves with their minds for so long that you have forgotten what it means to _listen_, to truly _listen_. The Force may be interpreted by your mind, but only if you hear it with your heart."

"What do you mean – "

"The Sith," Lady Elizabeth continued in a louder voice that overrode mine, "also rule themselves with their minds. You have not the means to overcome or outwit them that way, apprentice. It is not that you are not smart; you haven't the _time_. You are trying to undo a thousand generations worth of planning in a few days – can you not see how you cannot take this road?"

"But we Jedi have always been taught to think, to adapt," I said desperately. "I know of no other way to destroy Sidious!"

She sighed, a forlorn sound that tore at my heart. "Then the Sith have already won." She gave me a keen, searching glance. "You know what must be done, apprentice."

"I don't! Please, just tell me – "

Lady Elizabeth stood suddenly, interrupting my speech. "You know what must be done, apprentice," she repeated firmly. Then her expression softened for a minute. "Listen with your heart, and do not judge with your mind."

And, just as suddenly as she had appeared to me, she was gone.

I scowled at the spot where her outline had blurred as she had vanished. "Well, that was just _so_ helpful," I muttered sarcastically. I was starting to seriously doubt that even Lady Elizabeth knew really what I was supposed to do. Judging from her comments, she knew just about as much as I did, and was really watching more than guiding. _She seems just as surprised that Obi-Wan fell in love with me as I did. Of course, that really doesn't help me very much._

I let myself fall back to lie on my back on the bed, thinking. I understood what she had said – I could not in good conscience tell Anakin that the meaning of love was to let go and be selfless unless I had gone through the same thing myself.

Unfortunately, the Force had chosen Obi-Wan Kenobi to be the one to play this role.

I closed my eyes. This development was turning out to be a lot more awkward and confusing that I had originally thought – and I had yet to face the Jedi Council. Skilled though I was, I wasn't so sure that I would be able to hide this from twelve Jedi Masters. Last time, I had been hiding things in my past, things that the Force would not allow me to reveal yet, so it had been easier to shield myself from them. Now . . . Now I was hiding from them something that not even I truly understood, thus making it all the more difficult to hide.

I heard the door open again behind me and hastily threw up my mental shields. To my surprise – and relief – the visitor was Master Windu. He did not seem inclined for pleasantries, however, and spoke at once.

"Kya. The Council wishes to speak with you."

I frowned at Master Windu's use of my first name. Normally, the proper procedure for summoning one to the Jedi High Council would be to address me by my title – Padawan Ranor – and to send a message, not a Master.

In other words, the Masters were telling me that the meeting would be informal and serious. No politics or diplomacy would be used for or against me, and while the conversation itself would still be recorded as all were, they would welcome me to approach them on my own and _off_ the record should I choose it.

But lastly and most importantly, the Masters were giving me a chance to dictate this meeting on my own terms.

I turned to look directly at Master Windu. I was still slightly surprised that they would choose the Master of the Order to speak with me thus, for Master Windu was far and away a higher ranking member of the Jedi Order than me. I had assumed that if the High Council had decided it needed to pick my brain for more information and sent a Council member, they would pass the task onto a short-term member, not the Master of Council.

_Well, Master Kenobi always warned me never to assume. Here's the proof of his statement. Good thing he isn't here to give me another lecture about it._

"And since when is a meeting of the Council addressed by the Master of the Order?" I asked pointedly.

Master Windu took it in stride, not even blinking. "Times are changing, Padawan; you yourself are evidence of that. The Jedi Council was created to protect the Order, and as it stands you are the one whose information can either defend or destroy us."

I laughed, wondering who had managed to put Master Windu up to this. "Oh, I'm not the only one, Master Windu," I said, standing. "But I can help my family."

~ _Darth Sidious_ ~  
Skywalker's head lolled backward, his eyes closed and his mind silent. I closed my fist completely, making sure that he wasn't just playing dead. I could not afford to have Skywalker suddenly awaken and fight with him again; it would raise far too much attention. I was lucky enough here that no Jedi had yet sensed the disturbance and come running.

But Skywalker didn't even twitch – he was truly unconsciousness. I opened my hand and let him drop to the floor. _He surrendered faster than I thought. Maybe I was mistaken about his potential being that of a Sith._

Sith never surrendered; Sith never gave up; Sith never stopped.

I reached out to Skywalker's mind. I had done much the same with Amidala upon arriving at Naboo, to see what I could learn. But with Amidala the search had been quick and remarkably easy; Amidala had a strong mind that was not easily swayed, but she was young and untrained, and I had easily gained access.

_Now I'll see how strong _your_ mind is, Skywalker._ I doubted that his mind would be that strong. I had quite easily fooled him with Force illusions even a Padawan would be able to see through. The one covering me, making me appear as Kenobi, was indeed layered and hard to pierce, but the one of Maul – that one I had barely spent half the usual time on it. And it still had fooled the boy.

I placed a hand on his forehead and stretched out with my mind, steeling myself to absorb some of his more useless thoughts . . .

. . . and was violently shoved out of his mind.

I stared in shock. Skywalker's mind was protected by some of the strongest mental shields I'd ever encountered. So either Skywalker had panicked and acted on instinct to erect such shields, or someone else of outstanding power had taken it upon themselves to protect Skywalker's mind.

My eyes narrowed as I reached out again, testing the shields' power, only to be repelled by an even stronger effort. After a session of almost fifteen minutes, I was forced to concede that I wasn't going to succeed this way. The shields were simply too strong.

_Ranor._

It had to be Ranor. Only she would go so far to protect someone. And only she would be powerful enough to maintain such shields.

I frowned. I had neither the time nor the patience to force my way through the shields. And any further attempts might not only damage Skywalker's mind, but also alert Ranor that something was wrong. I could not afford for a Jedi to raise the alarm; I needed all the time I could get to get away. While I was confident that I could defeat any Jedi that stumbled upon me, defeating them would still take some time – time I could not afford to waste.

With a sigh, I levitated the boy's body. The Jedi could come, all right. But they would find something they'd never be able to forget – or ignore.

_The time has come for the Sith to make their move_, I thought, relishing the thought. _For well over a thousand generations we have hid – now it is time to remind the Jedi, the Republic, and the universe why it is that _we_, and we alone, are superior._


	27. Chapter 25

_**Chapter Twenty-Five**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I followed Master Windu as he led the way to where the Council waited. I did not speak to him. I was content to try and figure out why the Council – which actually had the authority to command me to speak – would instead choose to approach me instead of forcing me to answer. _Of course, even if they _had_ commanded me, I could not have spoken._

"You seemed unsettled, Padawan Ranor," Master Windu commented suddenly, startling me so much that I faltered in mid-step.

"I've just been summoned by the Master of the Order," I shot back wryly. "If that doesn't upset someone, then either they are Master Yoda or really ignorant."

Master Windu didn't smile. "You've proven yourself able to adapt easily," he countered. "At least, adapt enough to even defeat me."

I blinked. I hadn't expected Master Windu to admit that I had beaten him. In truth, the only reason I had beaten him was not because of my skill in dueling, but rather that my own gift of draining his power had slowed and weakened him.

I had just opened my mouth to respond when pain flashed through me. I gasped, bending over and stumbling against the wall. I felt as though someone had taken their fists and slammed them into me. I heard someone say, "What – wrong – Kya – _Kya_!"

But I couldn't talk, couldn't answer, couldn't even tell who was speaking. Pain was blinding me, pain was deafening me, pain was surrounding me. Even when Jenna Zan Arbor had tortured me, I had never felt so much pain.

It felt like someone was ripping away something that was part of me, yet not vital; something that belonged to me, yet was not truly mine; something that I relied on, yet did not really need.

For the first time, I felt true _fear_, because I felt like something was tearing the Force away from me.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I whirled around just in time to block the shot with my lightsaber, and smiled briefly in satisfaction. But as I spun in perfect time to catch the other shots, the smile disappeared.

_How could I have been so _stupid_?_

I hadn't realized that Kya would become so frightened by the fact that romance was beginning to spark between us, but, in retrospect, I should have. Kya was a Jedi – she probably had never experienced anyone who had expressed a romantic interest in her. At least, not for long. It was well known that Jedi never married, for Jedi often made that quite clear on missions. And her Master would have been sure to shield her from those who looked at her with unfriendly intent.

"Still practicing, Padawan?"

My Master's voice startled me, but I used it as an excuse to duck and then reach out and turn off the practice remotes. I took off the blindfold to see him smiling gently at me – he hadn't been fooled by my display.

I deactivated and sheathed my lightsaber. "Practice makes perfect, Master. _You_ taught me that," I added, bending over to scoop up the remotes and dumping them back where they belonged.

One of the remotes floated over and dropped itself in the bin as my Master joined me in cleaning up. "Yes, Padawan, but I don't think the Trials will include you fighting remotes," my Master said gently. "You've been excellent at that since way before I met you. In fact . . . I've noticed that the only times that you take out these old remotes is when you are unsettled . . . when you need to think."

My Master faced me with concern written all over his face as he finished. "Is there something wrong, Padawan?" he asked quietly.

"No," I replied quickly. Too quickly, apparently, because my Master's expression tightened and his eyes narrowed. But before he could answer, his comlink beeped, distracting him. I breathed a quiet sigh of relief.

But the message was anything but a relief in and of itself.

"Master Jinn, come quickly," a Master's voice said urgently.

My Master's frown deepened. "What is going on?" he inquired as the sound of people rushing by and frantic talking sounded in the background.

"It's Kya Ranor."

The words sounded a panic inside of me. Even though Kya had rejected me, she hadn't managed to banish what I felt for her. Had Kya been so scared by my advances that someone else had managed to hurt her?

Or had she hurt herself?

I didn't remember leaving the room, or following my Master to the location. Everything seemed to come a stop when I saw the small circle of Jedi clustered around Kya. She was lying on the floor in an almost fetal position. That hurt. It hurt me to know that something had happened to her.

But what hurt the most? The fact that her expression was twisted as if in pain.

I turned my attention back to the present in time to hear my Master ask Master Windu what had happened. I joined my Master's side quietly.

Master Windu looked unsettled. "I have no idea," he confessed. "We were just talking when she suddenly collapsed. I tried to help, but. . . Well, you know how strong she is, Qui-Gon. She wouldn't let anyone near her. All I know is that something hurt her. And it hurt her a lot, Qui-Gon; I've never seen any Jedi react that like before."

"Why aren't any of the Jedi tending to her now?" my Master asked.

Master Windu snorted. "You really think we'd be able to, Qui-Gon? Her shields still hold, even now. _I_ can't get close without her shields assaulting my mind, and it's too strong for me." His gaze fell upon me. "That's why we asked you to come. Your apprentice was able to get through last time."

I swallowed. _But last time she wasn't scared out of her mind by me._ "You want me to try to wake her?" I ventured softly.

Master Windu's expression softened slightly. "No one will fault you if you fail," he said. "We all know how strong she is."

_Only one way to find out, I suppose._ I took a deep breath and started to approach her. I half expected to be repelled by something – a mental assault, Force push, anything. But there was no reaction, even when I was standing right next to her. Whispers sprung up immediately, but I ignored them, kneeling beside Kya's unmoving form.

"Kya?" I asked gently. My concern grew when she didn't answer me, but I was careful to shield it from the Jedi around me; too much of a display and they would get suspicious.

An idea started to form in my head. _I could use the bond we share to awaken her._ But the Jedi Masters were not aware that Kya and I shared a bond, and to show them might be a dangerous giveaway to my feelings for her. _But I can't just let her stay like this until she wakes up. . . She might never come out of it on her own._

I glanced up at my Master, silently asking permission. A frown deepened on his face, but I sensed his permission to go ahead – because it might be the only way we could get through to her.

Taking a deep breath and closing my eyes, I concentrated on the bond we shared. I slowed rid my mind of every other distraction, bringing all of my focus to bear on our bond. Sound and feeling and smell and thought faded away, and soon all I sensed was Kya.

A wall suddenly rose to block my path, but for some reason it melted away before I even had a chance to flinch. _It's as though, for some reason, Kya's instincts recognize me as someone who means no harm and who is allowed unobstructed access no matter what._ But why was that? Kya had known me as long as she had known my Master, yet only I was allowed entrance.

Suddenly, I had more pressing concerns as Kya's memories washed over me. Unconscious as she was, her barriers no longer protected my mind from the barrage of memories that burst forth. Sensations and thoughts that were not mine abruptly overflowed into my mind, teeming with things I had never imagined could ever happen.

_A battle arena filled with thousands of droids and only a handful of Jedi. _

_"Jedi Kenobi!" Kya shouts, her lightsaber a blue blur that slices through three droids before waving a blue shield that deflects bolts from a super droid. . ._

_---_

_"Master?"_

_Kya walks down a corridor with a tall male Jedi, her expression disgruntled and annoyed. The man turns to her as she speaks._

_"Yes, Padawan?"_

_"How come you never mentioned how much of a pain working with Skywalker could be?"_

_The man laughs, resting a hand on Kya's shoulder affectionately. . ._

_---_

_Kya opens her eyes slowly to see a bearded male Jedi – a different one than before – crouching before her. His blue-grey eyes are filled with concern._

_"Are you all right, Padawan?" he asks._

_Kya winces. "I think so. I hate Skywalker's techniques."_

_He laughs quietly. "Hate is a strong word for a Jedi, Padawan."_

_Kya glares at him. "Fine! I strongly _dislike_ Skywalker's techniques. Better?"_

_He just continues laughing. . . _

_---_

_"_Coruscant_?" Kya repeats incredulously, staring at a Jedi I recognized as Master Windu. She is sweating slightly, and her deactivated lightsaber is held tightly in her hand. Another Jedi Padawan stands behind her, also holding a lightsaber._

_"Are they out of their mind?" Kya continues. "Coruscant is the base of the Temple; they cannot hope to overwhelm all of the Jedi and the battle units stationed here when we combine forces!"_

_Master Windu is not swayed by her arguments. "Nevertheless, apprentice, they _have_ attacked. Reports say that they are making the Senate their target."_

_"Isn't the Senate in session right now?"_

_Master Windu nods. "Exactly. Take Padawan Jukassa and some other senior Padawans, and make your way to the Senate. Divide what remaining Senators there are among you, and protect them as best you can."_

_Kya nods and turn away, picking up her comlink and beginning to issue orders. . . _

I gasped as I was suddenly propelled out of Kya's memories.

~ _Vereora_ ~  
I eyed the child dubiously as my Master dumped him down, but did not voice my disapproval – that would be out of place.

But he saw the look anyway; there was nothing I could hide from him.

"Yes, this is the boy. Anakin Skywalker," he said, pronouncing the boy's name slowly as though examining it – and the boy himself – for flaws.

"Doesn't look like much," I ventured, nudging the boy's body with my foot. _Pathetic._ The boy looked absolutely what I would imagine a coddled Jedi baby to look like – easily overwhelmed, soft, and naïve. So different from the Sith Hands, who were strong, and smart, and powerful.

"He is not. Yet," my Master countered, emphasizing the last word. "But when he becomes a Sith, he will be the strongest ever – and a perfect apprentice."

_So I am not?_ I thought. But it did not truly matter. My education at the hands of Darth Sidious had begun only a decade or so ago, but I was already beginning to realize that soon I would not need him.

I was not a Sith apprentice, despite the fact that I thought, acted, and had been loosely trained in their ways. Darth Sidious had pitted Maul against me, with the prize of the winner being becoming his apprentice – or at least taking the trials of becoming a Sith apprentice. Maul had beaten me with a liberal use of the Force – telekinesis, Force-push, Force-choke, and various other techniques – to which I was unable to retaliate without losing my head or arm or leg in the furious duel we engaged in.

"Complete your task, my Hand," my Master said dismissively, leaving.

I bowed to him. I knew that he was slightly annoyed that Maul had been defeated; that was the reason for his unusual dismissal. Usually, he addressed me as "my child".

I was a Sith Hand, the only in existence to serve Darth Sidious thusly – by blade and Force. Darth Maul was – no, _had been_ Sidious's apprentice, but now that he was out of the way, I hoped to take his place by my Master's side. Maul was blunt and impulsive – I was subtle and careful. Maul had been caught or filmed a couple times – I had never been traced. My missions were done in total secrecy, and always completed in perfect accordance with my Master's commands.

And now my mission was to trap the Jedi sent to rescue the child . . . and kill them.

I would fulfill this mission.


	28. Chapter 26

_**Chapter Twenty-Six**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
I watched nervously as my Padawan knelt by Kya. Some of my nervousness had abated when no mental or physical retaliation had emanated from the unconsciousness apprentice as he had approached. But I was still on tenterhooks that something else would happen.

I knew that a lot of Kya's power was instinctual, which basically meant that when challenged, she could accidentally react and lash out at someone that she did not mean to. Kya's talents, which she kept strictly controlled, were dangerous, and her most potent one dragged especially close to the dark side. Other Sith Lords before had mastered the talent of draining life-forces to sustain themselves, and the ability was extremely tempting. If Kya was pushed too far, I feared that she would fall, with no Master to restrain her.

And her abilities would render her almost invincible, and it would create a never-ending cycle that required her to drain more and more and in effect sink deeper and deeper into the dark side.

My apprentice's eyes suddenly flicked to me, his eyes asking for permission. I knew what he wanted to do – he wished to try and touch Kya through their bond. I frowned, considering both sides. On one hand, it might be the only way to reach Kya. On the other . . . On the other, it would alert Mace and the others to the fact that the bond existed.

I sighed, and nodded for Obi-Wan to continue. Mace shot me an inquiring look, but I pressed my lips together, warning him not to question me now. Mace's eyes darkened, letting me know that we were going to have a serious conversation about this sometime – and sometime soon.

_Wonderful_, I thought unhappily. I did not want to have to discuss the rising affection between Obi-Wan and Kya with Mace anytime soon, yet avoiding it would only make it more obvious to the Masters that we were hiding something.

I was distracted from further thoughts when my apprentice's eyes flashed open. I could sense his surprise in the Force, and took a step forward. Kya might be powerful, but even so, I was not going to back away and let anything happen to Obi-Wan.

But Kya's eyes opened then. Confusion and pain echoed in the Force as the apprentice pushed herself up. Obi-Wan at once reached out, steadying her.

"What happened, apprentice?" Mace asked immediately.

Obi-Wan sent him an almost annoyed glance, which Mace ignored, but probably registered. I almost groaned at my Padawan's total lack of discretion, but Kya covered it for me, replying, "Someone tried to get past my shields."

I blinked in surprise. Kya seemed perfectly capable of defending her mind from intruders; after defending her body from the three of us, protecting her mind should have been a piece of cake. Obi-Wan seemed to share the same sentiments.

"Your own shields?" Mace sounded slightly impressed. "It takes a lot of discipline to attack someone from far away. I sensed no one near us."

Kya sighed. "No, not my own shields. I placed mental shields around Anakin's mind on the way back to Naboo, and apparently someone just tried to get past them."

"Around Skywalker's mind?" Mace's impressed attitude faded. "Why would you do that?"

Kya seemed slightly irritated, but before she could answer, all of us gasped as the dark side rippled, sending chilly waves washing over us. Kya leaped to her feet and began running.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I raced down the hall, not caring that this was not at all the proper way to act for a Jedi. I could hear the footsteps behind me that told me that Obi-Wan and Masters Jinn and Windu were behind me, and could sense their confusion in the Force.

I didn't care. I had sensed that something was wrong with Anakin, and this dark ripple confirmed it. No Jedi would have tried to get past Anakin's shields in such a brutal way, and the lack of resistance on Anakin's part told me that he was unconsciousness.

I knew at once that Sidious had lashed out at Anakin. _My powers may not be enough to defeat Sidious, but I can hold him up. And I won't abandon Anakin._

I stopped outside of Anakin's room and used the Force to open the door. I stepped inside and nearly fell over when a wave of dark side energy rushed at me. _Sidious._ I nearly growled the name, furious that he had dared to harm an innocent child merely to get to me.

I rested a hand on the bed, concentrating. Before we had left for Utapau, my Master had begun teaching me to use the Force to listen the ripples of past actions in a certain room or area. Using them, I could try to understand what had recently happened by listening to the last emotions – fear and anger and a whole range. I wasn't very good at it, though. But my Master had said that experience would help me. I understood the rudiments, he had said, I just needed practice.

I had glared at his retreating back in response. When in the name of the Force would I have time to practice? But my Master had only laughed and hugged me.

_And now it's time to see if I had 'experienced' enough_, I thought, brushing away the memory of my Master hugging me. Affection between us had grown very slowly – or rather, _my_ affection for my Master had grown slowly. Master Kenobi had been won over much earlier, resulting in his offer of taking me as his Padawan, and his affection had grown steadily. Eventually, I had found that I trusted him and looked up to him and loved him as a father figure just as much – or perhaps even more – than I had with Master Katarn.

I shoved the thoughts of Master Kenobi out of my head. My shields – jarred as they were by Sidious's pushing – probably weren't in the best condition, and I didn't want the identity of my Master leaking to any of the three Jedi who were entering the room now.

Opening my mind, I allowed the Force to fill me. I sensed comfort and satisfaction – _Anakin_ – but soon fear entered. Frowning, I concentrated harder. I sensed the fear fading as recognization kicked in . . . recognization of –

"Obi-Wan?" I muttered. I turned around just as Obi-Wan and Master Jinn entered the room. I was loathe to speak to Obi-Wan, but I asked, "Obi-Wan, did you talk to Anakin recently?"

He looked taken aback. "Uh, no," he answered. "Not since we brought him to bed."

I sighed. "Then he is in even greater danger than I thought," I murmured, straightening. My mind began to spin with all the possibilities. Since Obi-Wan had not been the one to enter Anakin's room and take him away, that meant that someone highly skilled had instead managed to trick Anakin into believing that he – or she – was Obi-Wan.

"Padawan Ranor, what is going on?" Master Windu sounded extremely irritated now. "And what are we doing in Skywalker's room?"

"Mace!"

Master Billaba appeared in the doorway. Her expression was controlled, but I could sense that something had disturbed her. Master Windu turned around at once, recognizing the voice of his former Padawan.

"What is it?" he asked.

"We found the source of the ripple in the dark side," she answered seriously. "It looks like there's been a fight . . . and I don't think the Jedi won."

"But what could provoke them to act?" Master Jinn questioned, joining the conversation. "We haven't even begun searching yet."

All eyes flickered to me. I decided to give them the simplest answer I could.

"The Sith have decided not to wait for me to act against them," I said simply, already moving past them.

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
I screamed, thrashing blindly. But the restraints were stronger than I was, and as they cut into my hands and feet, I woke up. Panting, I looked around. I was in a . . . a ship of some kind. _This place feels . . . feels evil._ It didn't help that I had awoken to find myself thoroughly tied down.

I jumped as a cold hand landed on a rip in my tunic.

"I find that pain eventually overcomes even the largest amounts of drugs, don't you?" The cold voice made me shiver just as much as the cold hand. Then the owner of both moved into my line of sight.

She seemed neither old nor young. She was clad in a close-fitting bodysuit of the likes I'd never seen before that seemed to be shimmer in the dim lights. Other than that, all she wore was a tight belt from which hung a lightsaber.

She saw where my eyes went. "Yes, this is a lightsaber, boy," she said, fingering it lovingly. "And it works . . . which you will find out the hard way if you make a single attempt to escape."

"Who are you?" I blurted out. "And what have you done to the Force?" For although I could sense that _she_ was using it, I could not sense it myself. The loss of the thing that had been my constant companion and protector made me nervous.

She smiled condescendingly. "An inquisitive brat, aren't you? Well, boy, there are some rules, and you need to learn to follow them. For one thing, _I_ ask the questions, not you."

"You have no authority over me," I retorted, defiance flaring up in me. I never had liked rules much anyway, and this lady certainly wasn't gaining any of my respect.

"I have authority over your life," she shot back. "And don't think I'll be a coward like your friends the Jedi and not use that authority to get what I want."

She raised her hands, and I felt the Force swirl around her. Moments later, I was screaming again.


	29. Chapter 27

_**Chapter Twenty-Seven**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I knelt down, examining the dark spots marking the floor. _Blood._ And I knew exactly whose it was, too.

The thought that Sidious had done this to get revenge on me only made my blood boil all the more. Anakin was just a child; there was no reason for Sidious to harm him. True, Anakin would be the deciding factor in the wars to come, but to attack him when he was just a child?

"You've sunk to new lows, Sidious," I muttered, rising. I turned to see that Master Gallia had joined Masters Windu, Billaba, and Jinn in a low conversation. Obi-Wan was leaning against a wall, his expression troubled. I could tell that he was burning to ask me something, but he didn't say anything.

I was glad of it. Obi-Wan and I had not spoken directly since our . . . encounter outside. Nor had we communicated via our bond, choosing instead to close down our respective ends. As a result, our bond – once strong and vibrant – was now fading. If we left it neglected long enough, it would fade.

I took a step and then frowned. _More blood?_ I could still see the spots of blood marking a small trail that moved haphazardly over the corridor. But these spots were smaller and more spread out than the first few, as though they had fallen from a greater height. _Maybe he levitated Anakin?_ Sidious was certainly strong enough to do that. And he wouldn't want to dirty his hands, even though he had already taken on this rather lowly task.

I glanced behind me. The Masters were still arguing, and Obi-Wan had joined the conversation. I could tell by the disapproving gleam in Master Windu's eyes that Obi-Wan had just sided with Master Jinn, whatever the last had said, and that neither Master Windu nor Master Billaba approved of whatever it was.

Rolling my eyes at them, I turned back around. They wouldn't notice me doing a little exploring. And I liked the idea of doing it alone the first time. _The more hunters you bring, the faster the prey hears._ It was, after all, an old piece of advice my first Master had taught me when I learned how to operate during stealth missions, where the most important thing was not getting the job done, but doing everything with the least amount of people – and noise.

Carefully and slowly, I raised the special shields my first Master had taught me – the ones that covered any changes in my mind and emotions so that others would sense the same thing and not be alarmed. I had used the shields often during interrogations, to conceal my inner feelings of pain and present a calm, defiant facade to frustrate my captors. Such shields would help the Masters not sense my plans or my leaving.

Calling on the Force to aid my eyes, I followed the trail. It wove back and forth across the corridor, as though the person was either really drunk or just wanted to walk back and forth tons of times. _Well, I don't think Sidious was drunk when he did this. Or he could be. It might've been what gave him the courage to strike at a Jedi Initiate in the heart of the Jedi High Council. But then again, Sidious doesn't exactly fear the Council_, I thought, scowling.

My eyes followed the trail for a few more minutes before . . . a dead end. I blinked, completely surprised. _What the –_ Reaching up, I pressed one of my hands against the wall. It was solid. _Have I been tricked or something? Even Sidious doesn't have the power to walk through walls!_

Standing up, I tried to collect my calm before I alerted the Masters that something was wrong. I ran my hands over the wall, closing my eyes to be able to feel the wall better without visual distractions.

_Someone placed their hand . . . here_, I thought, feeling the faded warmth on the wall through my heightened senses. I placed my hand there, in exactly the same place, but nothing happened. _Hmm . . . Maybe not _here_ exactly. . . Let's see. . . _

I moved my hand gently upward, trying to see if there were any cracks or pads or something I could find. For a good half a minute I let my hand trace the path until –

_Got it!_ My fingers slid into the crevice, and I sensed a pad there. It had three indentions obviously meant for three fingers. With the Force's aid, I carefully placed them there.

All of the Jedi behind me jumped as the wall slid open. I removed my fingers with a satisfied smile. _Sidious _did_ have escape tunnels. . . No wonder it was so hard for us to track him. . ._

"How did you find that?" Master Billaba asked, astonished. "I didn't sense anything unusual about that wall."

"You wouldn't have sensed a difference," I said absently. I had a sneaking suspicion about this wall. I ignited my lightsaber and jabbed at the wall, ignoring the shocked inhales of the Jedi. Sure enough, my lightsaber sputtered out within seconds of contact.

"And here they told us it was a new thing," I muttered. I raised my voice so they could hear me. "Cortosis ore. It has the ability to shut down lightsabers and it's also pretty resistant to blaster fire."

"I've never heard of such a thing," Master Windu murmured.

"You won't until the Clone Wars, about . . . ten years from now," I said. "That's when a group of Jedi ran into some people who had cortosis fibers woven into their armor. That was quite a shock, seeing our lightsabers connect and then just sputter out."

"Does it have any weaknesses?" Master Jinn asked, his eyes fixed on the part of wall we could still see.

"Yeah." I punched it, calling on the Force to strength my blow, and it cracked easily. "It's very brittle. And if you slice it enough with your lightsaber, eventually you'll get through." I caught Master Windu's eye. "If you use the shatterpoint, it'll give way."

I slipped into the tunnel, and felt the other Jedi exchange glances behind me. "You coming or staying?" I asked, not even bothering to turn around.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I eyed the tunnel with consternation. _Go into a creepy, dark, probably infested and baited tunnel? No thank you._ But it wasn't like I really had a choice.

Kya had already starting moving without waiting for us. Clearly, she was going to investigate no matter what.

I sighed. I hadn't seen a Padawan with such a single-minded determination since Siri. _Siri. . ._ The memories that arose at the thought of Siri Tachi were quickly pushed away, though, as I followed my Master into the tunnel.

It seemed like we traveled a long time in the tunnel. Pretty soon it got so dark that I was forced to rely on the Force and my bond with my Master to guide me. I wondered how Kya was able to find her way, but brushed it off when I stepped into a large puddle.

_Gross!_ I thought, disgusted.

I heard a mental laugh. _Oops. Sorry, Padawan, I should have warned you about that. _

_Yes, you should have._ I paused for a moment. _How is Kya finding her way down here? I'm barely coping even with both the Force and the bond._

I felt my Master stiffen slightly. _She is a lot stronger in the Force than you. . . She's already stopped me from hitting my head on the tunnel three times._

I felt a pang of something in my chest. She had spoken to Qui-Gon, but not to me?

My Master must have sensed my stress. _Do not worry about her, Padawan. She probably assumed that I would pass on her warnings to you. . . The less amount of Force she uses, the easier it is to remain undetected. _

I barely repressed a scoff. _If anyone glanced down here with the Force aiding their eyes, our live forces would shine like glowsticks anyway_, I pointed out. _Using the Force to help see probably'll just make us a little bit brighter, that's all._

I heard my Master's familiar mental laugh at the same time a brilliant flash of light made us all jump. I heard a hiss from Kya as she leapt back and automatically landed in a defensive crouch. I started and half-drew my lightsaber, although I did not ignite it – the way it was, I had a greater chance of hurting another Jedi then an enemy.

The light faded then, and there was silence again.

I felt a powerful mind brush against my own, broadcasting Kya's words. I marveled at the sheer power she could bring to bear, and the control she must have, to project her words yet prevent her strength from overwhelming us. Her mind was like a dark yet clear lake that promised deeper and stronger depths the farther you swam.

_This is a special gate that is triggered by use of the Force_, she said. _If anyone using the Force touches it, it flashes up._

_I have never heard of that before_, I heard Master Windu object.

Kya gave a mental snort. _Of course you haven't. It isn't supposed to be invented until for another three years, _at least_. It was incorporated into the Jedi commando units as a defense against some of D – I mean, Tyranus's more dangerous Dark Acolytes, but only after it was used against a Jedi team first._

_How do you get past it?_ I inquired. I wished I could use our bond to sense how she was feeling right now, but dared not to with two Jedi Masters behind me.

Kya hesitated. _You have to just not use the Force at all. And you can't touch the wall or the ground either – as a Jedi, your latent talent will set it off anyway. If you're caught when the gate flares, you'll be in serious trouble._

_No doubt_, my Master said dryly. _Well, apprentice, can you demonstrate how to get through?_

_Yes. But you'll have to turn on a light or something; Force-enhanced senses will trigger the gate, and you can't see me without the Force. I don't want to get fried just so you can see me jump through, you know._

There was silence again as Kya's mind withdrew and I heard one of the Masters rummaging around for a light. I exhaled sharply as Kya withdrew, missing the contact of her mind, then berated myself – her presence should not be so . . . addictive . . . yes, I should not yearn for it and miss it when I lost it . . . I was Jedi. . .

_But I love her_, I argued silently.

_She is not meant for you_, came the gentle reproof from my consciousness. _Kya Ranor is part of a world you can't even begin to understand._

_But I love her._

_Jedi aren't supposed to love in the first place._ The voice was firm, but sad; after all, my consciousness was part of me – when I suffered, so would it. _Kya . . . especially . . . Kya would be the one person . . . no . . . Kya Ranor is the _one_ person that cannot reciprocate your feelings. She has her duty, both to herself and to her Master. _

I had completely forgotten about Kya's mysterious Master. Kya acted so single-mindedly, so certainly, so quickly that it seemed she was Knight already. But of course she still had a Master – she still had a Padawan braid. And most Padawans and Masters shared a parent-child relationship . . . one that not many would be willing to break for something like love. . .

_Then I will wait_, I decided. I would not push her. _But . . . But if the off chance comes . . . then, then maybe._

My consciousness scoffed. _The possibility of that is lesser than the possibility of a being that does not exist in the Force_, it pointed out sourly. _This is no time to lose yourself or your heart._

_Just shut up._

_Remember my warning._

Shush_, will you?_

_I _am _you._

_Yeah, and you're blasted annoying._

* * *

Sorry for the long wait. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! I'm afraid that I am suffering from writer's block, so the next chapter may take a while. My apologies again.


	30. Chapter 28

_**Chapter Twenty-Eight**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I leaped up from the ground and frowned. I had expected the winding tunnel to lead to a launchpad or something; that was, of course, typical of most escape tunnels. But this didn't seem like the escape tunnel for the Naboo monarch. . .

_The ship resting on the launchpad is simply too . . . too . . ._ I couldn't quite place my finger on it, but I knew at once that Queen Amidala would most definitely _not_ be flying away in that type of vehicle.

"Where are we?"

I turned at Obi-Wan's question, not surprised that he had been the first to ask it. The Masters were too busy surveying our surroundings and looking in the Force for the presence of anyone else. Well, most of the Masters. Master Jinn's hard blue gaze rested on me, letting me know in no uncertain terms that he had a bone to pick with me and that while he was patient, his patience wouldn't last forever.

I sighed internally. _Don't I have enough to deal with?_ "We're probably at the back of the castle," I answered. I went down on one knee and placed my hand in the ground, using the Force to sense my surroundings for any other unaccounted for tunnels or such. "Hmm . . . Nope. Nothing else around here."

"Except _that_," Master Billaba said sourly, pointing towards the strange ship.

"Well, there's actually more to that than it seems," I said lightly, beginning to rise. "I think it's a – "

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
Kya suddenly whirled upwards, her lightsaber activated and in her hands just in time to deflect a blast of lightning. At the same time, I felt tremors in the Force and traps suddenly activated with deadly accuracy. The ground I was standing on suddenly snapped upwards at an angle, launching me into the air, and I landed on some sort of concealed platform, where a cuff snapped over one of my wrists. I gasped as an icy wave rippled across my body and the Force suddenly vanished.

_No!_ Desperately, I reached out again, but, no – it wasn't there. The Force was gone. _Blast it. Must have some sort of Force bubble on this thing._ I tugged at the cuff, but it wouldn't budge. And when I went for my lightsaber, I realized that the cuff was angled just so that if I tried to cut the cuff myself, I'd had to cut my whole hand off.

With a frustrated groan, I turned my attention back to the main platform. Only Kya still stood there, but in a different position; she'd obviously managed to spring out of the way of the trap aimed for here. I didn't see anyone else. _We all must have been caught off guard_, I realized unhappily.

"Vereora." Kya's voice was calm, but I heard tremors of anger underneath it.

A woman appeared in my line of sight, clad in dark clothing. She tossed away a cloak and unveiled a blood-red lightsaber. "You know me, apprentice?" Her voice was smooth and oily, and I could almost see the condescension in her voice along with her emphasis on "apprentice".

"Yes. You're the one D-Tyranus used before he got Ventress to track us."

The woman blinked, almost visibly startled. "I know of no man called Tyranus," she hissed smoothly, starting to circle Kya. "You are mistaken, apprentice."

Kya laughed harshly as she mirrored the woman's movements. "It is you who is mistaken. You are Vereora, called that because you think the name fear will instill fear in those you attack. You serve Sidious, Dark Lord of the Sith, but you seek to become his apprentice rather than be his servant. And you are a fool!"

With the last word, she sprang backwards, sailing over me. Before I could so much as blink, her lightsaber flashed out, and the tip slipped across the cuff. The cuff shattered when I tugged at it again, and the Force flooded me with its warmth just in time for me to activate my own lightsaber.

Together, we charged the woman, forcing her to whirl and twist defending against both of us. I was confused by her overwhelming display of defense moves. _She's overexerting herself . . . why? She must know that she'll tire herself out._

A few minutes in, I realized with a shock why exactly she was forced to do so. Kya and I were working in complete tandem. Whenever one attacked, the other covered. When one forced the woman one way, the other was right there to force her back.

I was amazed by the connection we had. I could feel the Force flowing through both of us, making us a perfectly matched pair. Our bond was ringing with power because the differences between us were shrinking as we melded our abilities together, becoming as close to a single entity as I'd ever been with someone besides my Master.

I could see the shock on the woman's face. Obviously, she hadn't expected such a partnership from mere apprentices. Then resolution settled in, and she went on the attack. _She knows that we will wear her down if she continues to defend like this._

Kya dodged a blow, missing it by centimeters, and flipping backwards to gain some distance. I watched, pressing forward against the woman, my heart in my mouth. But there was nothing to be concerned about – Kya landed safely a few steps behind me.

_I'll try to free the others. Can you distract her?_

Startled though I was by her initiation of mind contact, I pushed aside my shock. Now was no time to ogle. _Go!_ I told her. Although we could hold our own against her, there was no way we could take her down without killing her unless we had the support of the Masters.

"One apprentice," the woman mocked softly. "Honestly, do you think you can hold your ground against me – alone? I have trained _years_ for this encounter."

"So have I," I responded.

"Ha! You weakling Jedi training cannot prepare you for a match against a Sith Lady, Padawan Kenobi."

I stopped, surprised. _How does she know my name?_

The woman's voice turned silky. "Ah, yes, I know who you are. My Master has great plans for you." She pronounced the words slowly and reverently, as if it was an honor to be made a puppet.

I eyed her as the last thought hit home. _A puppet. Is she merely a puppet for her master, one that will be discarded when her use is over?_

_What other purpose would there be for her?_ Kya cut in dryly as my Master rose.

"I have no wish to be made a puppet, and nor do I wish to serve a master who thinks nothing of hurting an innocent child to achieve his aims," I told the woman as my mind rejoiced in the renewal of my bond with my Master. "Your master seems to be both."

The woman's eyes flashed. "Then you will suffer for your lack of vision," she spat. Drawing herself up in a quick movement, she flung her lightsaber at me. I batted it aside easily as Masters Windu and Billaba joined us, making a circling around her. Kya landed by my side a moment later.

The woman glanced around with disdain, but I sensed a bit of panic. Clearly, she hadn't prepared to face all five of us, much less when three were fully-fledged Jedi Masters.

"I fear that _your_ lack of vision, Vereora, is the one at stake right now," Kya countered calmly. "No matter how powerful you are, you cannot face all five of us."

"I don't plan to," the woman hissed. Suddenly, she dropped into a crouch and stretched out her hands. Crackling bolts of white-blue lighting sparkled into being in a circle around her. A second later, she shoved outward, and the lightning flashed towards us.

I instinctively angled my lightsaber in a sideways guard position to take the brunt of the blast, but the power was beyond what I'd expected. When the lightning collided with my blade, I gasped as I was blasted backwards. I felt like I had been socked in the gut – twice.

The smoke that arose from the various collisions made me cough and my eyes watered. I heard a dark, quiet chuckle and when I reached out with the Force, I sensed that Vereora was gone.

~ _Darth Sidious_ ~  
Vereora knelt before me. In the Force, I could feel her awe – and her chagrin. I smirked. I knew she had faced off against Ranor and Kenobi.

I had watched.

The bond between the two young Jedi was stronger than I'd thought. The Force practically roared through their bond, shouting the potency the two had when they worked together. And it helped that the two were already very strong Jedi to begin with; together, they were almost unstoppable.

Vereora had only escaped when she had utilized a powerful blast of lightning. She was still too arrogant for a Sith. She had to show more cunning than this. During this encounter, she had displayed every single one of her abilities that could have been secret weapons.

"I failed you, Master."

I didn't turn around. "Yes, you did. You showed too much arrogance, and you have revealed too much about the depth of your abilities. I am disappointed that two mere apprentices could hold their own thusly against you."

Vereora shot to her feet. Now her aura displayed her blazing anger. "I did not know they had a bond!" she protested. "Without it, I would have – "

"Defeated them? Are you so certain? The key to being a Sith is seeking out the weakness in your opponent – and exploiting them. You failed to do so. You should have realized the bond between them before they used it against you."

Vereora exhaled slowly. "Yes, Master."

"Now, leave me. I must think of a way to cover for your atrocious failure. Consider yourself . . . dismissed until further notice."

Vereora hissed in anger, but left. She knew better than to tempt my anger. I would have no scruple about getting rid of her. She was merely a pawn in a far larger game.

I rose. It was time to start bringing the pressure on the Jedi. _Find the weaknesses in your enemy – and then make them suffer for it._ The bond between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Kya Ranor was their ultimate weakness. Anakin Skywalker was merely a . . . distraction.

No, Anakin Skywalker would have no further use against Kya Ranor to me. But Obi-Wan Kenobi would.

I barely held back a smile. The pain that Ranor would feel watching Kenobi die would be delicious in its agony. Then, with the last pillar holding her to light removed – and by the Jedi's own hand – Kya Ranor would join the dark side and be the ultimate key . . . to Anakin Skywalker's transformation to Dark Lord of the Sith.


	31. Chapter 29

_**Chapter Twenty-Nine**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
I stood, watching, as Kya battled against the droids. She was skilled, I had to admit. Her master had trained her well – whoever he was. But I knew why she was still an apprentice. Oh, yes, she had the power, and the control of it, and the skills necessary, but physical might wasn't everything.

Kya needed to learn to rein in her emotions. Sometimes, the expression on her face was too much of a giveaway to her true emotions. She also needed to learn to take things in stride. She was too easily provoked into an emotional reaction when things went wrong. And she needed to learn to slow down; she was too hasty in her words and actions. Oh, yes, being swift was helpful in a duel – but it wouldn't help in life when things relied on the quality of the information conveyed, not the speed.

Kya suddenly paused, and I felt the Force swirl around her. The droids buzzing around her froze and fell to the ground as she deactivated them. "Yes, Master Jinn? I believe that you wished to speak to me."

I entered the room as she turned around, her deactivated blade held in her hand. "You are very skilled, apprentice. I am surprised that you still find the patience to duel with droids."

"Practice is only thing that keeps me honed," she replied.

"I sense that there are other things that you have yet to hone, apprentice. Like patience. And controlling your emotions."

Kya tensed for a moment before realizing that I was merely offering suggestions, not criticizing her. "Master Jinn, with all due respect, I was raised in a time far different from yours. I did not have the time to practice masking my feelings with a war going on and battles that needed to be fought."

"You are too focused on the Unifying Force," I reprimanded her gently. "Your eyes are only for the future – what must be done, what must be considered."

"And why should I not?" she asked. "By preempting my enemies' actions, I can possibly negate their effects."

I sighed. Kya had the same problem as Obi-Wan. "Kya, sometimes preemption happens in the here and now, not in the future. If you wait forever for the time to fix a problem, then the opportunity that waits before you now may be missed."

Kya turned away, her face a mask of pain barely concealed under the surface. "When I focus on the here and now," she said quietly, "I do not see the same things you see. I see the brothers and sisters that join the Force; I see the blood of the innocents that is being spilled; I see the universe falling out of balance. I would prefer to look to the future . . . where just maybe . . . there is hope."

I crossed the room to her side. "I understand, apprentice. But you need to find balance within yourself and accept that these things happen before you can move on." I kept my tone gentle. Kya had suffered enough.

Kya tensed. "You speak of my bond with Obi-Wan, don't you?"

I spread my hands. "It troubles me; that is true. But I will not fight the will of the Force."

She turned to me. "How are you so sure that the bond between us is the will of the Force? The Jedi Code forbids attachment. The Jedi Council will not change the rules that have stood for millennia just because of my bond with Obi-Wan."

I placed my hand on her shoulder. "You are right; the Jedi Council will not change the rules. However, you should know that the Jedi Code forbids only _selfish_ attachment to others. I just thought that you should know this, apprentice."

I turned around and started to leave. I had given her all the advice that I could; now it was up to Kya to make what she could out of it. I had spoken the truth; the bond between the two apprentices did trouble me. But if it was the will of the Force, who was I to question it?

I had lost my love, Tahl, because we had waited. I didn't want Obi-Wan or Kya to face the same pain. If their love was truly selfless, then . . . then it was worth it.

"Wait."

I stopped.

"You did not answer my question. How do you know that my bond with Obi-Wan is the will of the Force?"

"I do not know for certain. I don't know anything for certain," I replied. "However . . . the Force is strong within the both of you. How do you know that the bond between you is not the will of the Force if it because of the Force within you that it came to be?"

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves. I had spent my free time meditating. Master Yoda had told me that I would undergo the Trials as soon as we returned to Coruscant.

Which would happen as soon as Anakin was stable enough to come with us.

That would be soon, no doubt. Even if they weren't trained, Force-sensitives still healed more quickly than normal people, and with Naboo healers attending to Anakin, he would be up and about in no time at all.

So now I had cleared my mind and readied myself for this final encounter. I had had plenty of time to turn over my past actions these last few days, and I had come to a conclusion: I needed to bridge this gap between Kya and me _now_, while I still had time.

I finally mustered the nerve to walk in . . . only to stand there staring in disbelief. Kya was flowing through one of the katas, her lightsaber a blue blur that twirled around her in an arc that was both defensive and offensive. It was one of the more advanced katas Padawans learned, and I marveled at how graceful she made it seem. My Master was always scolding me for making it into a fighting form instead of a flowing kata, as it was meant to be.

I cleared my throat. "Kya?"

She stopped mid-thrust, whirling around. Upon seeing me, her expression became guarded. She deactivated her lightsaber as her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders. She brushed it back impatiently.

It occurred to me that Kya didn't look sixteen anymore. Of course, her blue eyes had always portrayed a much older age, but . . . Kya just looked older now. Closer to my own age, for some reason. I brushed it off. _My brain's probably just playing tricks on me._

"Obi-Wan." Her tone was flat, but slightly inquisitive – offering me to start the conversation. She would not take the initiative here.

I surprised her by slipping out of my cloak and drawing my own lightsaber. "Duel with me? I'll probably be a better match than the droids you've been practicing against."

Kya eyed me. "I don't know. . . The last time didn't work out so well."

I shrugged and activated my lightsaber as I stepped closer. "Too bad." And then I attacked.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I barely managed to sidestep in time to avoid his strike. I blinked in surprise. I had come so close to accidentally killing Obi-Wan last time . . . so why was he now initiating a duel?

"Obi-Wan – are you – sure – about this?" I gasped, twisting to evade further attacks. I parried the next few strikes.

Obi-Wan grinned. "Of course," he replied teasingly. "I want to see if you can beat me – without your gift."

A slow smile crept across my own face. _If he wants a duel . . . then he'll get one._ "Well, then." I saluted him with my lightsaber. "Let the contest begin."

We danced in the duel for a long time. Time passed, but I didn't keep track of it. Our lightsabers became blue blurs – sometimes streaks whipping out in a quick attack; sometimes blue arcs of whirling defense.

However, I could see that we were evenly matched, for two reasons. Firstly, our skill and experience were about the same. Secondly, our styles were similar – so similar, in fact, that it was easy to him to detect my next move and me his.

Finally, I gave up on the defense – the defense Obi-Wan had been hammering at – and whipped my blade through a complex whirl of attacks, designed to infuriate, confuse, and eventually disarm the opponent. Obi-Wan deflected them all, but he was forced to retreat in the meantime.

I gritted my teeth. This duel was pushing at the edge of my stamina. _One last touch._ My Master had taught me this last move just a month ago. I had never quite gotten the hang of it. _Might as well try._

I disengaged, pulling away in a circle. Obi-Wan started moving toward me, bringing his lightsaber forward – and I slammed around, knocking his lightsaber out of the way as I brought mine to point at his throat.

For a moment, the only sound was the humming of our lightsabers and our jerky breaths. Then I pulled away. I didn't want to see the emotions I could sense flickering through his eyes, flitting across his face.

"Well," Obi-Wan started, "that was certainly worth it."

I turned around, deactivating my lightsaber and clipping on my belt. "Why did you really come here?" I asked sharply.

Obi-Wan hesitated before walking closer. "I – I wanted to apologize. I don't want the cost of my actions to be our friendship, Kya. I know I was stupid, and I'm asking you . . . I'm saying I'm sorry."

I eyed him warily. But the Force was telling me that he wasn't lying, urging me to trust him. I closed my eyes. Slowly, cautiously, I began to open the bond between us again. When it was completely open, I felt him step closer.

I opened my eyes to find him right in front of me. His blue-green eyes were filled with the genuine warmth that I'd always seen in my Master's eyes. I saw him tentatively raise a hand.

I stopped him. "It can't be that way between us," I told him gently, turning away.

I sensed him frown. "Why not?" I felt his hands come to rest on my shoulders, felt them turn me around and tug me closer to him.

Fear blossomed in my heart, but not the fear of survival that usually triggered my Force abilities. No, this fear – this was the fear of one who fears oneself because they do not understand.

"Obi-Wan, don't," I tried to say, but it was too late. I was caught in his spell, like a fish caught in the currents of a mighty stream. Despite all of my strength in the Force, I couldn't stop him from capturing my heart any more than I could stop the sun from setting.

And then my comlink beeped.

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
I was so totally out of it.

I thought that I would have woken up on a hard surface. Nope. I woke up in a soft, warm bed. I thought that I would have woken up still restrained and still in agony. Nope. I woke up clean, free, and treated.

_What in the names of the suns is going on?_

When I tentatively cracked open my eyes, I realized that I was in some sort of hospital. All of my wounds were clean and bandaged, and I was dressed in fresh Jedi clothes.

"Good. You're awake," came a warm voice.

I turned my head to the side to see Master Qui-Gon sitting there. There were dark circles under his eyes, and I could sense nothing but worry from him, but he managed to muster a smile.

"What . . . What happened?" I tried to ask.

Qui-Gon's eyes darkened. "Someone tricked you into leaving your room, Anakin, and then they turned you over to some sort of bounty hunter. Do you remember anything?"

"Uh . . ." I racked my brain for anything that I could remember. I could remember leaving my room . . . and then running – from something . . . and then . . . darkness. "No. I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Qui-Gon said. "We can't expect you to remember everything when you've been knocked out – "

" – and treated in this infernal place they call a hospital," finished a dry voice.

Kya entered the room, a warm smile on her face. She crossed the room in a few short steps, exchanging a quick glance with Qui-Gon along the way. Then she turned her attention to me.

"How do you feel, Anakin?" Her voice was softer now as she rested a hand on my forehead.

"Hungry," I replied promptly. Then I flushed as Kya burst out laughing. It _had_ been rather . . . well, that had been rather embarrassing.

"Spoken like a real Padawan," Qui-Gon said approvingly, also laughing.

A warm feeling blossomed in me at his words, and I looked around. I hadn't really believed Qui-Gon's words about the Jedi being like a family. After all, if they were a family, why didn't they allow parents?

But . . . now I saw . . . that the Jedi _were_ a family. And that family . . . had accepted me as one of them.

Kya ruffled my hair. "I'll ask the kitchen to send something up," she assured me. "Don't worry. It's normal. Jedi always end up eating a lot of real food when we come home."

"But I'm not a Jedi yet," I protested.

Kya's eyes sparkled and she tugged on my Padawan braid. "You most certainly are," she said firmly. "Even apprentice are part of the Jedi."

"Even young, stubborn apprentices," added a teasingly voice from the door.

I turned to grin at whoever had spoken, but the grin faded when I recognized him. It was Obi-Wan, leaning casually against the door.

I went rigid. Buried memories suddenly flashed through my mind. It had been _Obi-Wan_ who had taken me from my room. It had been _Obi-Wan_ who had choked me into unconsciousness. _Obi-Wan_ was the traitor here.

"You! Stay – Stay away from me!"


	32. Chapter 30

_**Chapter Thirty**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
There was total silence in the room when I exclaimed that. I backed as far away from Obi-Wan as I could get. Of course, with the Force at his control, he could probably inflict damage no matter what, but still . . . my instincts told me to stay as far away as possible from him.

Kya rose slowly, her face a mask of confusion. "Anakin? What is it?"

I swallowed hard. Obi-Wan hadn't moved, but confusion was on his face as well. For the first time, doubt crept into me. How could I persuade Kya and Master Qui-Gon of Obi-Wan's betrayal?

"Anakin, _what is it_?" Kya's tone was stern now. Finally, with an exasperated sigh, she reached forward and touched my forehead.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I slipped past the shields protecting Anakin's mind easily; I had created them, and besides, Anakin was too startled by my action to block me.

I called up his memories. I had seen in his eyes that Obi-Wan's appearance had triggered something. And judging from the horror on his face, it was possible that the memories being triggered were of his own capture by Sidious.

The memories flowed over to me smoothly, like water running over the rocks in a stream. They surrounded me, each of them glowing with a different internal light – sometimes happiness, sometimes sadness, sometimes rage, sometimes joy. Each memory was tempting, a call that cried for an answer.

I took a deep breath. When Master Gallia had taught me this, she had also warned me of the dangers of getting lost in someone's mind. I had to be extra careful doing this because of Anakin's potent abilities. I didn't want to accidentally trigger his instincts and be tossed out.

I selected the memories I wanted and allowed them to flow through my mind. At first, seeing and experiencing everything through Anakin's senses was a little disconcerting – he wasn't trained as a Jedi, he was shorter than me, and he was younger than me. But even with these differences, I still managed to comprehend Anakin's reasoning behind his actions towards Obi-Wan.

_He thinks that Obi-Wan was the one to choke him_, I realized. _But it wasn't Obi-Wan; I can sense, even from here, that it was not. It must have been Sidious. But how do I show Anakin that?_

I pulled myself out of Anakin's mind. "Anakin," I said quietly, "I understand." Now it was Anakin's turn to have confusion spill over his face. He was not yet skilled enough to realize when someone had rummaged through his mind.

I crossed to Obi-Wan's side, taking his hand. And I opened the bond between us completely again. I sensed Obi-Wan's surprise, and his grip on my hand tightened, but I was too busy to notice that. I let Anakin's memories flow from me across the bond. But I did so slowly. I had conveyed memories to my Master before, but _this_ Obi-Wan was not my Master, and conveying things across a bond was always more difficult that one thought it would be.

When I was done, I opened my eyes to meet Obi-Wan's. I felt his thanks float along our bond as he released my hand. I stepped back and leaned against the wall as Obi-Wan moved towards Anakin.

Anakin froze up again, his eyes plainly displaying the fear he felt. "Anakin," Obi-Wan murmured softly. "Anakin, do you really think I would do something like that?"

Anakin cocked his head to the side. I felt him tentatively reach out with the Force to examine Obi-Wan. I smiled. _Instinctive reaction. Good. He is more trained than I thought._

A moment later, Anakin relaxed. "If it wasn't you," he began slowly, his voice growing stronger with each word, "then . . . who was it?"

Obi-Wan turned to me. I could sense his question through our bond. I raised an eyebrow at Master Jinn. As Anakin's future Master, it was up to him to decide how much Anakin would be told about the nature of the Sith Lords.

Master Jinn sighed, drawing Anakin's attention. "When you're better," he told the boy, rising. "Then we will talk."

"But . . . But what if he comes back?"

"He won't," I assured Anakin. "And if he does, well, then he'll be outnumbered three-to-one. I think you're safe enough."

"I'm going to update the Council," Master Jinn said easily, heading for the door. He sent me a meaningful glance; obviously, Master Jinn was going to speak to just Masters Yoda and Windu, not the full Council.

I frowned, but nodded. _I will join you later_, I broadcasted, turning back to Anakin. With this new attack on Anakin, maybe the time was coming to tell the Masters everything. I couldn't stop Sidious alone, but neither could I just barge in on him and try to reveal everything at once.

Obi-Wan touched me through the bond. _Kya? Can I talk to you for a minute?_

_Will it really be a minute?_

I heard his mental laugh and suppressed a pang of hurt; his laugh was almost the same as my Master's, but his was heard so much more often. . .

"I'm going to ask the kitchen to send something up for the Jedi Padawan," I teased, ruffling Anakin's hair. "I'll be right back."

When I was outside, I closed the door. "What is it?" I asked, being sure not to make eye contact. I had lost my control last time; I would not do so again.

Obi-Wan frowned. "Are you angry with me?"

I hesitated for a moment. Was I really angry at him – or was I just scared? "No. I'm just – This is just so confusing," I burst out, turning away. "You wouldn't understand."

_I'm falling for a man who will – in thirteen years – be the man who is my Master. This just can't be right. And for all that matters, this time the Force is helping me to fall in love!_

I felt him grip my shoulders. _Love is always confusing_, he said softly through our bond. _I'm probably just as confused as you are._

I pushed his hands away, and was immediately caught between two feelings. On one hand, it reassured me to have him so close. On the other, well, it scared me that we – two experienced Padawans – were getting so close to shattering the Jedi Code in a thousand shards. I didn't know which was more terrifying.

That_ is why love is forbidden_, I said. _And _that_ is why we should take warning from it._

Obi-Wan stiffened at my words. "The Jedi Council doesn't understand love," he said shortly. "Why should we listen to what they say about love, they who have never experienced it?"

I turned around. "Qui-Gon has experienced love, and he still thinks ill of this," I retorted. "Obi-Wan . . . I don't want to be your enemy. But I just . . . I just don't think this is the path we are meant to walk. We're breaking the Code by this. I don't want to see you expelled from the Jedi Order."

"You seem highly unconcerned with your own fate," Obi-Wan pointed out dryly.

I laughed harshly. _In a few days, once my tasks are done, I won't be here to be expelled. This Jedi Council has no authority over me save what I grant them. And back home, the Jedi Order is extinct – there's nothing to be expelled _from_ anymore._

But I couldn't say those words to him. I couldn't shatter his heart like that. Those were the cold, cruel words that would break him the same way Anakin's betrayal had broken my Master.

I . . . I _cared_ too much about him to do that.

"The Jedi Council will not expel me, and if they do, then I can make my own way. I'm used to it. But I know that the Jedi Order – and Qui-Gon – mean more to you than that. You will no abandon them again."

Obi-Wan stared at me. Then his blue-green eyes hardened and I felt him withdraw from our bond. "As you wish, Padawan Ranor," he said formally. Then he inclined his head shortly and stalked off.

And as I watched him go, for the first time in a long time, I felt my heart crack and tears started pouring down.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I paced back and forth, my mind a whirlwind of confusion. Kya's actions and Kya's words were at two totally different ends of the spectrum. That was not what confused me; words did not govern actions and actions did not engender words. What confused was that I knew of Kya's control over herself, but it seemed like she was waging an inner war.

I could tell, through her actions, that she was already beginning to return my own feelings. The Force practically sang through our bond with her emotions when she let her guard down. I knew that if that blasted comlink hadn't beeped and disrupted us, I probably would have gotten through to Kya . . . finally.

But her words, even when I had her off guard, spoke the completely opposite direction. Everything she said and implied told me a resounding _no_.

_So what is her true feeling?_ I sighed and leaned against the wall. There was no way I could get Kya to confess to my face, and in front of the Masters, she would deny it vehemently. And Anakin was completely oblivious to all of this.

A sudden burst of emotion from Kya made me start. I edged closer to Anakin's room. What had he said that would unsettle Kya so?

"_What_?" That was Kya, alright.

"Are you in love with Obi-Wan, Kya?" The little boy's voice was completely serious.

I heard silence. Apparently Kya was trying to figure out how to respond to this. I grinned. _So, Anakin isn't as oblivious as I thought._

"Anakin – This isn't exactly what Jedi are supposed to discuss." But despite the cool words, I could sense the underlying tension in Kya's voice. She was hiding something.

_Go on_, I urged Anakin.

"Jedi do not love," Kya said firmly. "Especially not _this_ Jedi, who is merely an apprentice."

Anakin paused, and I felt the Force brush over Kya as he tried to figure out the true meaning of her words. "You're lying," he exclaimed triumphantly.

"Anakin – "

"You can't deny it. I can tell, even without the Force. The way you look at him, the way you hold his hand. _And_ there's a bond between you, isn't there?"

Kya sighed. "Alright, I'll tell you," she said, relenting.

Anakin shouted in triumph.

"Anakin," Kya said warningly, her voice urgent. "Keep your voice down, please."

"Why?"

"Because it's against the rules for Jedi to fall in love."

"So you do like him?"

There was a long pause. I waited, my heart in my mouth. Kya would not lie to Anakin; she had no reason to, and I could feel the way the Force was swirling around her – she was going to tell the truth.

Finally: "Yes, Anakin. I love Obi-Wan."

* * *

To everyone reading this, you can thank Crazytenor42, because she's the only reason I updated so quickly.


	33. Chapter 31

_**Chapter Thirty-One**_

_**19 BBY**_

~ _Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I strode over to the monitors. _Nothing._ I felt a yawning sense of overwhelming helplessness. Here I was, a Jedi Master, a Senior General, by all accounts one of the best Jedi in the Order – but I couldn't do anything to help my Padawan.

Kya lay still as death on the bed. The medical droids that Senator Organa had had told me that medically, my Padawan was completely healthy . . . except for the fact that she was lying in a Force-induced coma. A coma that not even the combined efforts of Master Yoda and I could disrupt.

I brushed my fingers over her forehead. _Kya, what is wrong?_ But, of course, there was no answer, no snappy retort or teasing reply from the girl who'd grown up so much. I hadn't realized how much she meant to me until now.

"A purpose there is for everything," came Yoda's voice from the door.

I turned. "What purpose is there in keeping my Padawan in a coma, Master?" I asked. "We need all the Jedi we can get now more than ever."

Yoda was silent for a moment. "Always a deeper purpose, I have sensed for her," he said suddenly. "More than just a Padawan, she is. More than just a Force-sensitive."

"What more could she be?" Kya was gifted with a high midi-chlorian count and blessed with a rather unusual talent, but . . . how could that change the fact that she was a Jedi?

"Much, much more. Doubt, I do, that a mere accident, this is. Called her to her true destiny, the Force has."

"What destiny, Master? She's still a child, and a Padawan. She still needs a Master."

"Soon grow beyond you, she will," Yoda said gravely. "No mere Jedi is she. Need a Master, she will not. Come, the time has, for her own choices she must make."

I sighed. "I yield to your wisdom, Master, but . . ." I glanced over Kya. Worry still gnawed at my heart. "But I worry for her."

"As a Master, worry for her there will always be. But the time for that, it is not. Come."

With one last backwards glance at my Padawan, I left. Yoda was right. There was work to be done.

* * *

_**In the Netherworld of the Force**_

~ _Lady Elizabeth_ ~  
I smiled when Kya finally realized her love for Obi-Wan. _Good. She has finally learned to accept her feelings._ Kya would need those feelings when she faced her ultimate challenge – Darth Sidious.

Then the smile slid off my face as I realized that now I would have to pay Kya yet another visit. It was time that she learned about the dangers of traveling between universes. It was her destiny, yes, but I did not want it to become her downfall.

I would have to make the visit at night, when the shadows could be twisted to hide my face. I was changing. The glamour I'd used to disguise myself when I had first met Kya was fading, and my true features – and identity – were becoming visible.

But I had prepared for that. The Force had warned me when I had accepted this duty of its consequences, but also of its possible chances. If Kya learned enough about the powers the Force had gifted her with, I knew, then she could restore me to walk in life once again so that I could be with the Jedi I had fallen in love with . . . also against the Jedi Code.

But I was also prepared that it might never happen. It was certainly possible that Kya would never realize this. If that happened, then I would remain her guide on her journeys. If not, and I was restored to life, then the _real_ Lady Elizabeth would guide Kya on her journeys.

I wondered how Kya would react to her new guide if she gained her. Because the real Lady Elizabeth was neither Jedi nor Sith – she was a true, fully-fledged, highly-skilled, potent Walker.

* * *

_**the Unknown Regions**_

~ _??? _~  
I grunted when I felt the call. It was a call I had not heard for thousands of generations. Not since the days of the Walkers, when summoning was common.

The lure was tempting. I would serve only those who knew exactly what I wanted and knew how to procure it. The lure was hard to procure, so it weeded out most of those who knew the secrets to summoning me and my kin – the shedding of an ocean of innocent blood on a spoiled planet.

Finally, I lifted myself and responded with a sharp jab, inserting myself into the summoner's mind with enough force to destroy a battleship.

_Why have you awakened me from my sleep?_ I hissed. I always did this; it would scare off most. Those who stayed . . . they, I might consider dealing with.

_Thank you for answering the call, mightiest of the_ –

_Do not speak my name!_ I snapped, causing the summoner to wince. _The Order of Walkers may sleep, but it is a light sleep indeed. I do not wish to be found because of your meddling._

_My apologies, O Great One._ He paused.

_Apology . . . accepted. For now._ This one was intriguing. He knew how to summon me, and how to show the proper respect. And he knew my real name. Interesting. . . _What do you want?_

_I ask for your services against my sworn enemies._

_I do not deal in petty disagreements between you mortals_, I snarled, beginning to lose interest. As I thought, he was a Sith. A powerful one, but still. . . I would not involve myself in such insignificant quarrels as those between the Jedi and Sith. One of my kin had before at the calling of Darth Bane . . . and the Sith Lord had double-crossed and disobeyed the contract hammered out between us. The Sith had always made good bargains, but with that betrayal, we had begun to withdraw ourselves.

_It is between me and a Walker!_

Now, _that_ caught my interest. The Walkers had been extinct for generations . . . or so I had thought. They were the mortal enemies of my kin. _The Walkers are dead, their flame gone from the galaxy. They will not be reborn until the death of the Jedi Order._

_No. One has been reborn . . . now. Even without my calling to you._

_Anyone can fake being a Walker. It does not require much skill . . . or intellect, for that matter._

_I am certain, O Great One._ He described the mortal carefully. _And does not show up on any save one._

I hissed. Interesting. Those were indeed the signs of a Walker. And a mighty one, if the deeds done were anything to talk about. But I was also wary – this sounded a bit too much like the last deal struck between our kinds. And wasn't the ultimate goal of the Sith to conquer the Jedi's Chosen One and the _Sith'ari_, not to confront a Walker?

_Should you not be engaged in your battle with the Jedi's Chosen One? I had thought it the plan of your Order to combine the Chosen One and the _Sith'ari_ into one._

_The Walker protects the Chosen One from my influence. I am no match for a Walker in the mortal lands. Only you and your kin are powerful enough to confront one._

I deliberated for a moment. While mortals were no problem, a Walker might be. The last Walker had nearly been the death of me. Should I involve myself again?

_I am intrigued. Continue, mortal. What do you really want from me?_

* * *

Everyone please note that the Obi-Wan Kenobi at the top is in Kya's home universe at 19 BBY, NOT the Obi-Wan she's just admitted to falling in love with.

Okay, now that that's cleared up, I can tell everyone that the the last POV is from something/someone I completely invented; there is nothing in the SW univese like that, I just made it up for the purposes of this story.

Also, now that I've revealed that the "Lady Elizabeth" Kya's been meeting is not the REAL Lady Elizabeth, I'm going to be dropping a lot more hints about who she reall is, especially in the next chapter. A clue is this: She's a character that was created by Jude Watson. Another, bigger hint will be dropped in the next chapter.


	34. Chapter 32

_**Chapter Thirty-Two**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
_Blinding pain. Blood curling screams. Oceans of blood._

_Cold, inhuman, immortal laughter, trailing after me. . . _

_A flash of lightning, jabbing at the laughter. The laughter stops with a shriek and then the smell of something burning. . . _

"_Be gone, monster! Return to the Unknown, where you belong!"_

_Pained howling. . . "I will find you, Walker! If it is the last thing I and my kin do, I will _find you and destroy you_!" . . . _

"Ah!"

I sat bolt upright, clutching at my chest. I felt a burning pain, so like the pain I'd just felt in my dream. But when I glanced down, there was nothing there. . .

I took a deep breath. _It was nothing. Just a dream. Relax._

"Bad dream?"

I groaned as I recognized the voice. "Lady Elizabeth," I began, "what is it with you coming directly before or after bad events?"

I heard a soft laugh as I turned to face the glowing Force spirit. Once again, her face lay completely in shadow. I frowned. _Either she's trying to hide something, or she's deliberately doing it to annoy me – and it's working._

"As I said before, apprentice, I have no control of what is happening. I am simply a messenger for a far greater being."

"Lovely," I said sarcastically. Then I sighed. _I might as well hear her out; it's not like she going away anytime soon._ "Okay, okay. What is it this time?"

The shadows seemed to darken now and draw closer to her, as if the smile I had sensed in her teasing voice had been replaced with a worried frown. "This time, I bring a warning," she said, her voice low and anxious.

I stiffened. I could tell at once that she wasn't kidding. _Things are getting serious now. Not good._ "What warning?"

She sighed. "It's hard to explain. . . Why don't I start at the beginning?" Without waiting for my consent, she began, "You were rescued – miraculously, it seems – when your mother died. And now you come here and you find out that in this world, there is no trace of you. Add that to the fact that you know for certain that no one in your family tree has ever even shown the slightest hint of Force-sensitivity approaching a Jedi, much less the strength you have – doesn't it seem rather . . . strange?"

"Well, yes . . . but weren't we all taught that the Force has its own purposes for us?"

"Good, apprentice. Master Kenobi has taught you well." She shifted. "What you hear next will be heard to accept, but time is short, so please just listen; do not comment."

This time, she waited for me to nod.

"Good. The reason you do not seem to exist in this universe is because you don't. In this universe you were never conceived. Your parents did die, yes, but your mother was not pregnant here. You, Kya Ranor, are the ultimate incarnation of the Force when it brings its power to bear, even more so that Anakin Skywalker, because you exist in only _one_ universe. One. Anakin can be found in all."

"Wait – _all_? How many universes are there?"

Lady Elizabeth didn't hesitate to answer. "Hundreds. All playing out the same story, the same plot, the same events. Oh, they aren't all happening at once, mind you. Each universe runs on a different time, if you take my meaning. That's why this universe appears to be 13 or so years behind yours. And each universe's notion of time flows . . . differently. An hour in one may be a year in another."

"Okay . . . What does that have to do with me?"

"It will make sense shortly. This . . . existence of yours . . . being in only one universe, gives you a power with which few can match. The powers of your fellow Jedi – Anakin, Obi-Wan, even Yoda – are spread among the various . . . ah . . . existences of them, so their abilities are watered down _severely_. You are not so restrained."

I gaped. _If Yoda here is watered down, then I never want to face the real one!_ The thought was amazing. How much more powerful could Yoda get, really?

Lady Elizabeth seemed to sense my thought. "Oh, you could face him, and win. You are far more powerful than any other Force-sensitive in existence right now. Only a fully-trained Walker could match you."

"A what?"

"I will explain. But first – my warning. As you no doubt know, everyone – no matter how powerful – has a weakness they cannot overcome."

"Like a flaw?"

"Yes, but not in that sense." She sighed. "Look at yourself, Kya – what do you see?"

I glanced down. I saw the same me that I always saw – dark hair, dark blue eyes, slender body. No difference.

"You are different. Every second you spend here means you're aging."

"I'm _what?_" _I'm only sixteen, for Force's sake! I'm not aging._

"To be more precise, you're dying. It's called assimilation."

I could only stare at her.

"The true source of your power, Kya, is not that you have a higher midi-chlorian count. It is that you have the power to walk the universes. Normally, when someone arrives in a universe and they are not a Walker or do not have the ability to, they begin to assimilate immediately. Say, for example, this Obi-Wan Kenobi crossed to your home universe."

I stiffened again. _Blast. She knows of my connection with him._

"This Obi-Wan Kenobi does not belong in your universe; your Master, Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, does. So, which each passing day, the two souls will grow closer, because one universe is meant to support _one_ Obi-Wan Kenobi. As each draws on the Force, the line between them would start diminishing. And when he has stayed too long, this Obi-Wan Kenobi would die – literally. His soul would fuse completely with your Master's soul, creating an Obi-Wan Kenobi that was a combination of two lives forged into one."

"That's . . . amazing."

"Yet also deadly. You see, if that were to happen, everything this Obi-Wan Kenobi has done here – every deed, every word, every action – would be undone. He would literally cease to exist in this plane of the universe."

"So . . . Qui-Gon Jinn – here, anyway – would be dead now, wouldn't he?"

"Without Obi-Wan – yes, without a doubt, my dear."

"Ouch." I winced. _Who would care for Anakin then?_

"Indeed. You, however – you don't have anyone else to fuse _with_, because you only exist in one universe. So, you die, but . . . differently. With each passing day, as you use the Force, your soul fuses more and more with your counterpart – the Force."

"With the _Force_?"

"Yes, the Force. That is why your midi-chlorian count is growing as we speak. You're dying; you're joining the Force even more the longer you prolong your stay, but you are growing far more powerful as well."

I nodded slowly. Then a thought struck me. "Uh, what happens if I don't get back in time? Back home, I mean."

Lady Elizabeth nodded sadly. "You see the problem. You would cease to exist completely. Everything the Force put into you would go to waste, as all of your deeds would come undone."

"Oh." I closed my eyes. _So the risk is even bigger than I thought._ "And what's a Walker?"

"You _are_ a Walker, apprentice." Before I could do much more than open my eyes and stare, she continued. "Before the time of the Jedi Order, a Walker existed in every version of the universe. They kept the balance. But then it was decided that the Jedi and the Sith would keep the balance."

"Why?" _It's not like we're doing the best job of it._

"I don't know for sure. That was long, long before my time. I _am_ a Jedi, remember?"

"So why did the Force . . . uh . . . create me now?"

"To balance out the equation again. One of Sith Lords has called forth an ancient enemy of yours, one from the Unknown Regions. It is the last left of its kind. Only a Walker has a hope to stand against it. Even if you called forth the entire Jedi Order and Sith Order combined . . . it would not be enough. This creature is almost as old as the universe."

An idea hit me. "So when its race died out – well mostly anyway – that's why the Jedi and Sith rose to take the Walkers' place, right?"

"Most likely."

For a long moment silence reigned as I took in everything. Then I lifted my head, inhaled deeply, and turned to her. "How long?"

She knew at once what I meant. "You could last a week, maybe more, but no more than twelve days."

I nodded. "Thank you. One more thing – Lady Elizabeth isn't your true name, is it?"

The woman laughed. "The Force has given you good brains. Yes, child. The real Lady Elizabeth is a Walker, like you, and I am a messenger for her."

I frowned. "You aren't going to tell me your real name, are you?"

"No. But I will give you a clue – I broke the Jedi Code, just like you. I too fell in love in a fellow Jedi Master – a Master you know . . . personally."

"I do?"

There was no answer.

I flopped back on the bed. "Blasted messengers," I mumbled. "Why can't they just come out and _say_ things for once?"

"Say what?" a calm voice asked.

I sat bolt upright again as the figure of Obi-Wan Kenobi strode into view.

"Obi-Wan," I breathed. Then I thought three thoughts, one after another, and each more decidedly pessimistic than the next.

_Oh, no._

_How much did he hear?_

_I'm _dead_._


	35. Chapter 33

_**Chapter Thirty-Three**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
"There is a bond between the two apprentices, isn't there?" Mace asked bluntly. His dark eyes flashed with emotion at the thought.

I sighed. There was no way I could wriggle out of this except by lying completely. "Yes, there is," I relented. "It's existed since the journey back to Naboo."

Mace looked startled. "Only that long?"

"What, you thought it would have started earlier?"

"No, but the power of the bond . . . between them – "

"Dangerous, it is!" Yoda interjected. "Afford to lose either, we cannot. Especially that hidden the Sith Master remains."

I nodded. "I wholeheartedly agree, Masters, but how do you plan to break it? Force-bonds cannot simply be shattered on one's command. And I will not force my way into my Padawan's mind to try from there."

"We wouldn't ask you to do that," Mace protested, troubled.

I raised an eyebrow. "Well, then how do you intent to deal with it?"

Yoda gave me a speculative look. "Want the bond to remain untouched by us, do you? The best solution, you believe it is?" The old master's voice was skeptical.

"I believe it is the only choice we have," I said firmly. "And the bond may be a passing thing. Obi-Wan has already learned his lesson with Padawan Tachi; he will not risk leaving the Jedi Order again."

"The bond cannot be a passing thing, Qui-Gon," Mace countered. "You know that as well as I do. It will remain unless something is done."

"Well, what can be done? Unless you plan to send them off into separate corners of the galaxy or something."

Mace sighed. "I see your point. But I still believe that the bond is too dangerous to simply let live without doing anything."

I barely restrained another sigh. _You keep saying you want something done; when will you realize that there's almost nothing that _can_ be done?_ A Force-bond was a Force-bond. Only those involved could break it, and even that was a risky process to attempt. I didn't want to end up forcing Obi-Wan and Padawan Ranor to do this and end up having them turn against us because of the resulting pain.

"Why don't we just supervise them?" I suggested. "Just watch them. See if anything happens. If it does, then we can intervene from there. If not, then there's no need to get upset."

I saw Mace and Yoda exchange thoughtful glances. "Your suggestion, we will take," Yoda said finally. I breathed a sigh of relief, but the old master wasn't done. "But, if action we must take, take action we _will_."

"We will not allow them to fall to the dark side," Mace agreed.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
Kya shot to her feet, her blue eyes blazing with a strange combination of fire, determination – and fear. She was clad in nothing more than sleeping clothes; basically, her tunic's inner layer and pants. I saw her abandoned cloak and outer layers draped over a nearby chair along with her utility belt, lightsaber, and other gear. Her hair tumbled about her shoulders, unbound and free-falling save her Padawan braid.

"How much did you hear?" she demanded, her tone as hard as steel and as cold as ice. "How much, Obi-Wan?"

I noted her use of my first name with a start; when I had last addressed her, I had done so as formally as I could – with her _surname_. "Nothing, except the last bit where you were talking to yourself," I replied calmly, closing her door behind me.

She relaxed somewhat at my words, but then her eyes narrowed. "What do you want?"

I winced at the authoritative and cold tone; apparently, she still was trying to put a distance between us. But now, armed with her confession and with the advantage of having an open bond with her, I could sense the tactic for what it was – a tactic.

"I want to talk to you," I answered, sitting down.

Her expression soured. "The last talk didn't turn out so well. And I am _not_ budging from my position on this, Padawan Kenobi."

_Ouch. Ultimate blow._ I opted to go with the frustrated plan. "Why not? I can sense your feelings just as well as you can sense mine, _Kya_." I deliberately stressed her name, knowing she would pick it up – and be further thrust into frustration herself.

To my surprise, she only sighed. Only a flash of her sapphire eyes showed her brief annoyance. "I've already explained my position many times. It's against the Code; it's too dangerous; and it would lead to the dark side. How many other reasons to you need before you begin to see reason?"

"Just one."

Kya seemed exasperated. "I've given you three already!"

"Promise to give me one more, and I'll stop."

She considered it for a moment. "Fine. What else?"

I smiled tightly and stood, crossing over to her in a few minutes. She was trapped now. She couldn't go back on her word without being caught.

"If you believe so strongly that we should not give into our feelings, then why did you tell Anakin that you loved me?" I asked softly.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I stared at him, my mouth falling open. _Oh, stars above. . . He _heard_?_ Total shock swept over me. _This – This can't be happening_, I thought wildly. _No – this must be just another bad dream._

I sensed a flare of triumph from Obi-Wan. _So this is what he was driving for, all this time_, a part of me realized belatedly. _Blast. I should have been more careful._

"Who says I was telling the truth?" I fired back, hoping to turn the tables.

Obi-Wan rolled his eyes. "Kya, I know you weren't lying. The Force and our bond is a rather big giveaway to these things."

"Illusions can be created," I said tightly, turning away. It was taking all of my concentration to keep the barriers around my mind in place now, so my expression was rather . . . not helpful right now.

Obi-Wan hesitantly placed a hand on my shoulder. "Not _this_ illusion," he said softly. "You know as well as I do that love cannot be faked in the Force."

I shrugged out from underneath his hand. "It doesn't matter," I said stiffly. "I won't leave the Jedi Order for anything – or _anyone_. You know that as well as I do."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I'm not asking you to leave the Jedi Order. I'm just asking you to listen to your heart – just this once, _please_."

Now it was my turn to pause. Obi-Wan's words – where had I heard them before? They sounded familiar, somehow. . .

Of course. Lady Elizabeth had spoken the exact same words earlier. "Listen to your heart," she had said, "and do not judge with your mind."

But I was a Jedi. We were taught from the day we could think to use our minds. Both the heart and the mind could be fooled, but the mind would recover and discover the trickery much faster than the heart. And while a blow to the mind was easily suppressed and healed, one to the heart . . . was a little trickier to deal with.

"Obi-Wan, no." I meant the words to come out strong and determined, to show that I wasn't going to budge. They came out soft and weak, as if I was barely resisting.

Which, in a way, I was.

I was strong, but I had never faced this kind of challenge before. For all of my power, I couldn't resist him, especially when part of me knew that the Force was behind this match. And it didn't help that I knew I wasn't really resisting Obi-Wan because of the reasons I was giving; I was resisting him because of my Master, really, and that was it.

But I couldn't tell Obi-Wan about that – for obvious reasons.

Obi-Wan's voice was just as soft when he spoke. "Why not? There is nothing that holds us back if we both love each other."

I closed my eyes and inhaled, trying to clear my mind. "There is much that holds us back," I said forcefully, trying to shove my feelings down and away, where they would not interfere in this problem. But I wasn't as successful as I wished I could have been.

"Indeed? What?" When I didn't answer right away, Obi-Wan pressed on. "Kya, stop going in circles. We both know about our feelings, and we can't control them. And . . . I'd rather not, actually."

"I rather would."

"You're not doing a very good job."

I took a deep breath. _Maybe reminding him of his duty to Master Jinn will make him pause and see reason for once._ "Obi-Wan, we are Jedi. This is completely against what we have agreed as Jedi Padawans! Don't you ever want to become a Knight or – "

"Is that all you see me as, another Jedi?" Obi-Wan's voice had only grown softer, but it wasn't hurt; on the contrary, it was almost . . . intrigued.

"That's all I can see you as! You and I both know love is forbidden to Jedi, and most especially Jedi Padawans!"

In a flash, Obi-Wan's hands were on my shoulders and had jerked me around. I stared, startled. Obi-Wan's eyes were flashing with unrestrained emotion – emotion that almost scared me. I tried to pull away, but Obi-Wan's grip was crushingly tight.

_Obi-Wan, stop._ I tried to form the words, tried to form a protest, everything and anything that could possibly make him pause and give me a chance to retreat.

But Obi-Wan, unfortunately, had apparently realized how close I was to losing control, and he took full advantage of that – he kissed me.

With that, everything – every bit of protest, every thought, everything – was gone. Suddenly I couldn't remember why I had tried to stop him. Now all I knew was that I loved him as unconditionally as he loved me, and that not even the Jedi High Council was enough to stop us now.

* * *

For my best friend, who told me in no uncertain terms that this ending was not all at suggestive as to what happens next which I have absolutely refused to detail and demanded that I do this instead . . .

DOT DOT DOT

There, you happy now, Kate?


	36. Chapter 34

**_Chapter Thirty-Four_**

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
When I first woke up, the first feeling to cross me was confusion. _This isn't my room._ My room was not this neat, and I had a lot more stuff spread around than in this room. The bed had a lot less blankets than mine did, but for some reason I still felt warm. And I felt exhausted, but in a strangely pleasant way.

But then memories from last night flooded my mind, and I relaxed. Of course this wasn't my room. I had come to Kya's, and I hadn't left.

Automatically I reached out for the bond in my mind, but there was only a soft silence on the other end. I smiled. Kya was still sleeping, but for the first time since I had met her, her thoughts were still and her dreams not present. She had finally relaxed enough to really _sleep_.

I glanced down by my side, finding a sudden need to actually physically _see_ her before I could completely relax and know that she was safe and by my side. When I did, I blinked in surprise. Kya looked so . . . so different asleep. When awake, Kya was energetic, confident, and strong-willed, and her deep eyes flickered with a thousand emotions that warned everyone that she was not to be underestimated as just some young girl who'd stumbled onto a powerful gift.

But now – now she actually seemed her age. The lines in her face were gone, now that her face was smoothed out in sleep. She was curled on her side in what I could describe as an almost childish position, one that bespoke of an uncertain self-esteem. If she was dreaming, then her dreams were pleasant, because her lips were curved in a small smile. She looked like a normal sixteen-year-old girl. Young, relaxed, innocent – and beautiful.

Then Kya shifted and her eyes opened, revealing the flickering depths of emotion. For a moment I sensed her confusion, but the instant I did I reached out to her, soothing her fears. She relaxed as she recognized my touch.

_You're awake early_, she commented, sitting up and bringing her knees to her chest so that she could rest her head there.

_I got a good sleep . . . finally. I didn't have to worry about you anymore._

Kya blinked. _Worry about me? Wasn't it the other way around?_

I laughed, leaning closer to her and clasping her in my arms. _Yes and no. But love and worry come hand in hand. Of course I worried about you._ Teasingly, I added, _Especially last night._

She leaned against me. _Overprotective_, she scowled, but I could sense the smile that lay underneath._ I can take care of myself._

I shrugged, pulling her closer. I could feel the worry nestled in my heart, like a small wound that fails to clot and continues to drip. I knew that I would continue worrying about Kya no matter what, just like my Master had worried endlessly about Tahl.

_Too bad_, I told her. _That's what you get for falling in love with a Jedi._

_I_ am _a Jedi._

_Good; then you understand. Or are you telling me that _you_ aren't concerned for _my_ safety?_

She shoved me gently. _Fight fairly, will you?_

I smiled. _Not when I have you to argue with_, I replied affectionately. _Love always makes one biased._

Kya rolled her eyes. _When did the man I love turn into a philosopher?_

_When he fell in love. When else?_

_Try 'many years later, when he's a Jedi Master and has gone through raising a hyperactive, overeager Padawan'. How about that?_

I pretended to be horrified. _Stars above, no! The worst fate possible, that is!_

Kya started laughing when she heard my very bad imitation of Yoda. _That was terrible, Obi-Wan. It's a good thing Master Yoda didn't hear that._

_I _know_ I'm bad. Must you rub it in?_

_And _that_ is why I love you._

_Because I'm fun to argue with or because I surrender and play along?_

Kya groaned, but I sensed her amusement and smiled. I liked the innocent banter that was playing out now. My Master and I often engaged in it, but it somehow seemed far more precious and closer when I heard it from Kya.

"So, what were you and that mysterious messenger talking about last night?" I asked.

I got the reaction I'd expected. Kya stiffened immediately at my words. Her eyes darkened and I felt her draw away from our bond. _What messenger?_ she asked cautiously.

I sighed. _Kya, you can't hide things like this from me._

_I can protect myself._

Now it was my turn to stiffen at her words. _I can protect myself._ That implied that she was in some sort of danger. I felt dark thoughts slip into my head. If _anyone_ planned on doing Kya one jolt of hurt, they'd have some serious problems. Kya had suffered enough – no, more than enough. If she was in danger. . .

Kya had sensed the change in me. She turned. Her wariness had turned into confusion, which was the only emotion reflected in the dark blue eyes that now looked anxiously my way. "What's wrong?"

"What did the messenger tell you?" I asked sternly.

"Nothing of importance."

"Oh?"

I waited for her to relent. I could sense the emotions going through her head right now, and I knew that she would not want to outright lie to me. But she was still at a reluctance to reveal everything from her past.

After a long while, I said gently, _I'm not asking you to cough up everything. I . . . I just don't thinking of what kind of thing someone could say to you that would make you so tense and worried. That just doesn't seem like you._

Kya took a deep breath. "She told me that I have to go home soon," she confessed quietly. "She said that I've already lingered here past my time; I need to finish up what I need to do before time runs out. And . . . And maybe it's a good thing that I'm going home."

I felt the breath rush out of me. Go _home_? And _soon_? No, that couldn't be. I tightened my grip on Kya unconsciously. I had finally made peace with her. I couldn't lose her so quickly!

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I took a deep breath. From the protectiveness that was leaking over from the bond to me, Obi-Wan seemed ready to leap off the bed and fight the next person who so much as twitched in my direction. I doubted he would be happy with what I needed to tell him, but concealing it would only make him more paranoid.

"She told me that I have to go home soon. She said that I've already lingered here past my time; I need to finish up what I need to do before time runs out. And . . . And maybe it's a good thing that I'm going home."

I winced as Obi-Wan's grip suddenly tightened at my words. I flinched away instinctively, but just as quickly his grip got even tighter. When it got too tight and the emotions racing through his mind were too dangerous and I felt my self-defense mechanism starting to rise, I intervened sharply.

"Obi-Wan, stop! You're going to trigger my abilities!"

He released me abruptly at my words. I saw horror flash momentarily across his face as he realized what he had done – how he had hurt me. The fire in his eyes died down immediately, replaced by chagrin.

"Now do you understand? Obi-Wan, you were probably just a few steps away from the dark side just now!" I sighed. "Why can't you understand? I – No one wants to lose you to the Sith!"

Obi-Wan's eyes flashed when he heard my slip. "Is that why you kept refusing?" he asked gently. "Are you just afraid that one of us will fall to the dark side?"

"Why shouldn't I fear that?" I exclaimed, jumping off the bed to face him with my hands on my hips. Obi-Wan regarded me calmly. "All of my life I have walked the razor's edge between dark and light. If you bind yourself to me, you'll have to walk the same path!"

"What if I don't care?"

"You should. Sidious would jump for joy to have you under his control."

"No – Kya, that's not what I meant." I heard frustration in Obi-Wan's voice. "I don't care that you are dangerous, and I certainly don't care that you are fated to walk between the dark and the light because of who you are. Have you . . . Haven't you ever considered that that's part of why I love you?"

I blinked, startled. _What?_

A small smile flashed across his face. He slipped out of bed and took my hands. "Kya, you're so naive sometimes," he said affectionately. "I love you for your strengths as well as your weakness. As for walking the path between the light and the dark – Kya, you don't have to face it alone. There will _always_ be people there to help you." _Including me_, he added softly.

I looked down. "I don't know. . . I shouldn't have been so impulsive last night."

Obi-Wan laughed. "You're always impulsive, Kya. Why do you think I always end up worrying for your safety when you charge into something recklessly?"

"All the same, maybe it's a good thing I'm going home," I said.

His eyes flashed, but the fire was momentary. He sighed wearily, dropping my hands and turning away. "You still don't understand anything."

I turned him back with a light hand. _Then help me to. Why can't you just . . . let me go . . . let _this_ go?_

He pulled me closer to him. At first I fought him, startled, but then I relaxed and leaned against him. I could feel his breath against my hair as he answered.

"Because I love you."

I projected my confusion into the bond. Loving when you were a Jedi meant loving selflessly – in essence, loving but not possessing.

He answered my unspoken question. _You're so strong, Kya, in ways I never could imagine – but you're also so fragile. Whenever I think of you being hurt, it's like someone's taken my heart out into my throat and is pounding on my door with a mallet. It's just so . . . so hard . . . to think of you alone, unprotected._

_I don't need your protection. I got along just fine without it for my whole life_, I pointed out. _I was trained by the Jedi, remember?_

A faint smile touched his lips. _Maybe you don't need it – but _I_ need to give it. I love you for your strengths _and_ your weaknesses._

I pulled away to get a better look at his eyes. "If you really love me, then you can let me go," I said softly. "That's what love is, isn't it?"

He sighed again. "Yes. But letting go . . . that is easier said than done, Kya."

I cocked my head. He was right, I knew. Being a Jedi had fostered in him a protectiveness that I wouldn't trade away for everything in the universe. It was one of the reasons I loved him.

For a few minutes, we just stayed like that, treasuring each other's company, locking away each precious second spent in the company of the one we loved. I knew – we both knew – that even though we were resigned to separation, that wouldn't stop us from regretting it every single day afterward. Then I spoke again.

_That reminds me, Obi-Wan – I need your help on something._

_What is it?_

_I think it's time to show the Jedi Council my memories. It's time they learned what really happened back in my home. _


	37. Chapter 35

_**Chapter Thirty-Five**_

_**32 BBY**_

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
The second I saw my Padawan and Kya, I knew at once that something drastic had taken place. Something had altered their relationship beyond recognition. Something had changed the dynamics of, oh, well – everything, really.

The constant awareness of surroundings, the shifting posture, the defensive thoughts – all were present in Obi-Wan. No less obvious was the caring yet stern glance in his eyes – an emotion I had never seen him convey before. And it was directed at Kya.

As for Kya – the relaxed posture, the calm voice that possessed none of the stress of last time, the steadiness in her gaze; those told me all I needed to know.

_They have sorted out what befell between them_, I realized sadly. _And whatever they have done puts them – and their bond – beyond the reach or judgment of the Jedi Order._

There was no denying it, not anymore. The Force had played a great role in bringing these two together, and it apparently intended for them to be together. I knew that as certainly as I knew and treasured the existence of the Force itself.

Whatever had transpired, I wished them luck. Things had not turned out so well between Tahl and me, and I hoped with all my heart that Obi-Wan would never suffer the same wrenching pain that I had upon Tahl's death.

" – it's all right, Master Jinn?" Kya was asking.

I yanked my attention back to the present immediately and offered the holder of my Padawan's love a gentle, apologetic smile. "Sorry, I got distracted. What did you say?"

"I . . . I think it's time for the Jedi to understand where I come from, how I came to be," Kya said slowly. "You need to know, and I'm running out of time to delay telling you. Do you think . . . Do you think it's a wise decision? That it'll be all right?"

Despite her confidence and relaxed posture, I could see that she was still nervous. She had shifted ever so slightly closer to Obi-Wan, and I felt the bond between them pulse rapidly as emotions flowed between the two apprentices faster and smoother than ever before.

I noted the slightly sour look on Obi-Wan's face and hid a smile. Apparently _he_ wasn't as pleased with Kya's decision to let Masters go digging in her head and fishing through her memories.

_Good. He takes no chances, but is still able to sort out what is right and wrong. He is not blinded by his love for her. He trusts her judgment. Excellent._

I cleared my throat. "I think it'll be a wonderful decision, Kya. However, as you have sought my presence and not the Masters, I'm assuming there is something you wish to ask of me beforehand. And it would be?"

Kya hesitated. "I have a strong self-defense mechanism. You know already; you felt it."

I nodded shortly. _And I have no desire to repeat that experience._

"And so, well, I realized that allowing twelve unknown Masters into my head probably won't be the wisest decision. But I know . . . I'm already familiar with your reactions, and with Obi-Wan's, so I was wondering if you could – "

"Ah. I understand," I murmured, cutting her off. She was telling me that she was worried that allowing all of the Council Masters to go running around in her head would trigger her unique abilities, which would make everyone annoyed and get nothing done. But she already knew me; had utilized her gift against me; had seen my reaction. And she knew Obi-Wan even better, through the powerful bond they shared.

If she conveyed the message through us, the reception would be poor quality when it got to the Council's eyes, but at least she wouldn't accidentally end up knocking us all unconscious.

Kya looked relieved, and she bowed. "Then I am in your debt, Master Jinn." Then she strode off, presumably to search for Mace and Yoda.

I watched as my Padawan turned to follow her gracefully, his hand on her shoulder and the bond between them shimmering with complex emotions.

_Actually, it is I who am in your debt, Kya Ranor_, I thought. _You taught my apprentice what it means to love._

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
To my surprise, when I walked into the room where the Council was currently meeting in, there was another Jedi Padawan there. Standing with her back to us, the Padawan was tall and slender. But despite her delicate figure, I knew she was much more. Slim muscles and a sturdy build attested to her abilities in self-defense and hand-to-hand and lightsaber combat. Her confident voice told me that she was probably reporting back from a solo mission, signifying that she was a senior Padawan.

Beside me, Obi-Wan suddenly stiffened. I glanced at him, worried. Was this Padawan a rival of his or something?

But no. Amazement and distant memories flavored our bond now. No, this was no rival. She was an old friend, I sensed. One whose friendship he treasured, even though they had been apart many years.

Despite my best efforts, a tiny bit of jealously seeped into my thoughts. This Padawan was very beautiful, and I sensed that her abilities would partner with Obi-Wan's just as perfectly as mine did. And to top it off, they were old classmates.

But there was something about this Padawan . . . something _familiar_. Had I known her – her future self, that is – before?

The Padawan finished talking and bowed out. As she turned around, I got a full glimpse of her face – and it was my turn to gasp and stiffen. Blonde hair flowed around her shoulders, elegantly cut into a short hairstyle that didn't get in the way. Sharp and lively blue eyes shone with intelligence and keen wit.

Making eye contact with those vivid blue eyes was like a punch in the gut. Suddenly, I knew exactly who she was. _Siri Tachi._ Memories about her flooded my brain, because I had trained under Jedi Tachi and had known her apprentice, Ferus Olin. I remembered her lively jokes and useful advice – and I also remembered her death. Jedi Tachi had died at the Battle of Azure, trying to protect Senator Amidala, my Master, and Talesan Fry.

Siri paused at the sight of us, and a slow smile crept across her face. "Obi-Wan Kenobi," she said. Her voice was just as I remembered – vivacious, wonderful, and mystical – just like her eyes, except that her eyes were younger and happier now, not burdened by war and death.

"Siri Tachi," Obi-Wan returned with a similar smile. "I hadn't realized you had returned from assignment yet."

"Yes. And imagine my surprise when I was told that the whole Jedi Council was stationed on Naboo, and that I had to come here to report."

"Go and rest, Padawan," Master Gallia called, coming up behind her. "We'll finish this and evaluate everything later."

Siri inclined her head to her Master and strode off with an easy pace. Master Gallia turned her attention to me. "Did you want to speak to the Council, Padawan Ranor?" she asked gently.

I shook off my surprise at seeing Siri Tachi as a Padawan and turned my attention back to the topic at hand. "Yes," I answered, coming into the chambers. Master Gallia resumed her seat with a politely curious expression, one that was mirrored by almost all of the Masters. All, that is, except Yoda, whose expression was impassive as he watched me approach.

I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts before speaking. It wouldn't do to sound panicked or guilty. "I apologize for disturbing you on such short notice, Masters, but I had no choice. I received a message last night, and I've come to realize that I have precious little time to finish what I came here to do." I paused again. _Let's see how they react to this last bit._ "It's time I told you how the Clone Wars came about and how it ended – and what role the Sith Master played in it."

Startled surprise echoed in the Force at my words. Obviously, they hadn't expected me to tell them everything. That, or they just hadn't expected me to crack so soon and tell them.

_Why can't you think positively?_ Obi-Wan complained as he caught wind of my second thought. _They probably just froze when they heard "Sith Master"; it has nothing to do with anything else._

_Think so? Look at Master Windu and Yoda._

A slow, knowing smile had appeared on Master Yoda's face and he nodded. Master Windu glanced at him briefly before returning his attention to me. He leaned forward. "What kind of message? I thought you said that you were out of contact with your . . . Master."

"I didn't get this message from my Master."

"Then who?"

I hesitated. _Should I tell them the crazy truth or the believable lie?_ The second option was rather tempting, I had to admit. I would never have gotten away with it at home, but this wasn't home. And while Lady Elizabeth hadn't told me I couldn't reveal her to anyone, seeing as I didn't know her true identity, talking about her might make the Masters think I was just one mentally unsound Jedi.

I felt a sharp rebuke from Obi-Wan and winced. _Stop it, Kya. Honestly, stop being pessimistic and just answer the question!_

_Since when are _you_ the optimistic one?_

_Since now._

_That's just _so_ helpful_.

I finally choose to answer the diplomatic way. "The Force has given me warnings, just it has done in the past. Besides, if I do not choose to act, the Sith will act instead, and we will be on the defensive . . . again."

"What's wrong with being on the defensive?" Master Gallia asked. "We are not bloodthirsty warriors who will go on the offensive without considering the consequences. May I respectively remind you, apprentice, that Jedi are keepers of the peace – not soldiers."

My lips tightened, and a sour taste entered my mouth. _Stubborn and old and unable to see past the future to the present. No wonder Sidious never really considered our resistance a major issue._ "I don't mean any disrespect, Masters, but that attitude of waiting for others to act – merely reacting to things, instead of acting – is exactly why the Sith were able to destroy the Jedi Temple and murder every single Jedi on Coruscant."

Shock rippled through the Council at my words. I seized the moment and continued talking. I _needed_ their shock; it would help them understand why I was so anxious to help them. "The Force sent me here to try and prevent it from happening again. If you order me not to help change the way things are going right now, I can say with absolute certainty that in exactly thirteen years, every single Jedi in this room – save two – will be dead on the order of the Sith Lord."

I let my words sink in, and felt Obi-Wan send soothing feelings across the bond. He had felt the pain and anguish that was welling up within me as I recalled those dreadful memories, and he was trying his best to help.

Now I gentled my tone. I didn't want to put the Masters on the defensive. "You need to know how things in my world got to that point. You need to know how to prevent it from happening again. Otherwise . . . Otherwise, you won't need to worry about being on the defensive or on the offensive. The Empire will make sure that everyone remembers the Jedi Order as horrible monsters that stole children and betrayed the Republic."

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
A sour taste rose in my mouth at Kya's bitter and resigned words. She was describing her home – the home the Force wanted her to return to.

_How can I let her go home to that sort of place?_ She was describing the kind of place that was my worst nightmare for her. That kind of place would have no qualms about taking her soul and ripping it into a thousand shreds and blasting her consciousness into oblivion. That kind of place was the kind that shadows who lurked in the background wouldn't hesitate to seize her and hurt her.

But I knew, in my heart of hearts, that I loved her far too much to even try and hold her here against her will – even if it was the one place she could be safe.

"What Empire?" Master Ki-Adi-Mundi was asking slowly.

Kya swallowed against the hurt I could sense rising in her. "When the Sith took over the Republic, they changed it into an empire," she said. Her tone was flat, but I could sense the raging river of sadness underneath. "They only left the Jedi Temple intact because Sidious wanted to make sure he'd gotten all of the Sith Holocrons."

Her words seemed to drive her plea home to the Masters. I sensed the strong mutual feelings in the Force rising from them, as if they were conducting a vote right now via the Force. I prayed that they would agree with Kya.

Finally: "Very well, apprentice. What do you want us to do?"

* * *

Happy Holidays, everyone! Well, think of this early update as an early Christmas present. Unfortunately, I don't plan to write too much over vacation, so updates will be kinda sluggish. Sorry!


	38. Chapter 36

_**Chapter Thirty-Six**_

**32 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
As I sat there waiting for the Masters to forge their links to Master Jinn, a strange thought appeared to me. If, perchance, anyone wandered in during our meditation, we would look very strange indeed. A young woman sitting on the floor with a young man down on one knee beside her and thirteen older adults sitting on a circle around the two young people, all with their eyes closed yet clearly not asleep.

I felt Obi-Wan's smile as his affection floated across our bond. _Your thoughts are very strange today_, he mused. _First completely strategic; then totally pessimistic; and now you're about to laugh about how funny we look like this._

I returned the affection smoothly with a bit of a mischievous tint.

_Hormones_, he declared quietly. _I'm blaming all of this on _hormones_._ He paused for a moment while I smirked. _After all, that _was_ your first time, wasn't it?_ His tone was softer now, and a tinge of concern hovered about it.

I hesitated. Finally, I decided to go on the offensive. _Is this really the time to go talking about this?_ I challenged.

_Yes. Are you okay?_ Now all I could sense from him was outright concern.

I groaned inwardly. If Obi-Wan kept this up, he'd end up a mindless worrying wreck. _Obi-Wan Kenobi, will you just stop _worrying_ already?!_

_I can't help it_, he protested weakly. _Girls are different, and they can be – _

_Fragile my butt!_ I snapped, sensing where he was going with that line. _If something was wrong, you'd know about it already. In fact, you probably – _

_I am still blaming all of this on hormones._

Master Jinn cleared his throat abruptly, cutting neatly into our conversation.

In a way, maybe it was a good thing he had. This argument was getting rather heated, and a full out argument would create a dark tension that no Master would miss. And that would be rather obvious about the affection between us.

I opened my eyes to see Master Jinn nodding. "Everything's been prepared, apprentice. When you're ready?"

I closed my eyes again and reached out to the Force for strength. This was going to give me a lot of mental pain, besides the fact that it would be physically taxing as well. I would need as much energy as the Force could give me.

Then I exhaled, settled my mind, and reached out to the Force-meld that we had constructed.

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
I yelped when the training droid's laser zapped me and glared at the offending droid. _Come _on_._ On Tatooine, my Force-strengthened reflexes had seemed so much better. Now . . . Now it seemed like nothing I did was good enough.

_I wish Kya was here. Or Master Qui-Gon. Or even Obi-Wan._ Kya would help me, no doubt about it, but she was stuck in some sort of Jedi Council meeting with Master Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. She would be able to give me good advice. If Master Qui-Gon were here, he'd begin teaching me more Jedi techniques, as he had been for the last few days. He and Kya had reassured me that once Obi-Wan took the Trials and was Knighted, I would officially become Master Qui-Gon's apprentice and undergo real training, just like they all had when they were young.

And even though the relationship between Obi-Wan and me was still a bit rocky, it was more relaxed. Obi-Wan had confided in me that he was ready for Knighthood, and although he would miss Master Qui-Gon's presence, he said that he believed that I needed Master Qui-Gon more now and he was ready to give him up.

I startled out of these thoughts when I got zapped again. Cursing under my breath in fluent Huttese, I stomped a short distance away to rub my arm. An amused laugh from the doorway startled me, and I whirled around.

A young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes stood in the doorway. After I squinted for a moment, I realized she was a Jedi too. And a Padawan as well, if the braid on her shoulder was any indication.

"Who are you?" I asked politely.

The woman came closer. She had a confident stride that made her Jedi cloak billow out behind her, displaying her lightsaber on her belt. "I'm Siri Tachi, Master Gallia's apprentice. And you are?"

"I'm Anakin Skywalker."

Padawan Tachi nodded. "And your Master?"

I hesitated. After all, Master Qui-Gon really wasn't my Master yet, but what else could I say? "Well. . . It's kinda hard to say. Master Jinn says he'll take me as his Padawan as soon as Padawan Kenobi passes the Trials. So . . . he's not really my Master yet, but he acts like it."

"I see." She glanced over my head briefly. "I take it he hasn't really taught you how to fight these droids, has he?"

"No," I muttered. "Actually, he told me not to bother with them yet. But meditation is so boring! I can't do that all day!"

Padawan Tachi started laughing. "Oh, dear. I can see that Master Jinn is going to have his hands full with you. Here, let me help you."

She ignited her lightsaber as she walked over to the droids, and I stared in amazement at the violet blade. Obi-Wan and Kya both had blue blades, and Master Qui-Gon had green, and that Sith warrior had had red, but I'd never seen a violet blade before.

The droid beeped as it moved its focus on a target from me to her. A moment later, Padawan Tachi was weaving in and out, dodging as many bolts that had hit me while deflecting the rest. Her violet blade became a violet blur that seemed to be at once everywhere and nowhere. The Force flowed seamlessly around her as she effortlessly defended herself.

I found that I could barely keep up, even with the Force to aid me.

Suddenly there was a loud beep that startled me out of my dazed trance. Padawan Tachi deactivated her lightsaber and turned to me with a thoughtful smile. "I think I know why you have a problem, apprentice," she said. Walking over to the shelves, she rummaged around in them for a second before straightening again.

I raised an eyebrow in surprise when I realized that she was holding a black cloth in her hands. But before I could ask what she was doing, she had come up behind me and was tying the blindfold securely around my eyes.

"Ignite your lightsaber," she ordered, stepping away.

"I can't see! How am I supposed to defend myself if I can't even see so that I don't accidentally end up slicing myself apart with my own blade?" I protested.

She laughed. "_This_ is the answer to your problem. At home, the Force seemed to come naturally to you, right? Easily and quickly – almost instinctual."

"Um . . . yeah." _How does she know that?_

"You see, you haven't yet learned how to the Force on purpose, like most of us have," Padawan Tachi explained briskly. "And it's all right – you're still only an Initiate. Your abilities lie in your instincts – when you _aren't_ thinking. So don't think, and don't rely on your eyes or ears. Rely on what you have always relied on – the Force."

"How?"

"Well, that you'll have to figure out yourself," she said, her tone slightly apologetic. "But once you know how to touch the Force for an extended period of time outside using it for reflexes or the danger sense, it'll be easier for you to start using the Force on purpose for other things, like telekinesis and telepathy."

Reluctantly, I activated my practice blade. I made a mental note to ask Kya if what this lady said was true. Then I turned my attention to concentrating on the sound of the droid – and on the humming sound of my blade. I didn't feel like cutting my own leg off.

_That whish – is it over there? No, it can't be. . . It was over _here_ a second ago. . . Where's my blade? Is it at a proper angle to deflect a shot from _here_? Maybe – OUCH!_

Despite my effort, I found myself failing miserably. _Now I'm getting zapped even more than when my eyes were open. This hurts._ I groaned as I got hit again.

"Stop thinking. Just let go, and trust in the Force," Padawan Tachi commanded.

I glared in her direction. _She's laughing at me, isn't she?_ And why wouldn't she? She had so effortlessly deflected everything, and I couldn't even block one.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, clearing my thoughts. I remembered how Kya had warned me that anger was not an emotion Jedi indulged in. Suddenly, I felt a strange urge to turn just _there_ and bring the blade up just _here_. I jumped when a shot connected with my blade. Elation filled me. _I did it!_

Remembering Padawan's Tachi's warning not to think, I cleared my elated thoughts away and allowed myself to feel the subtle nudges that I'd never noticed before. They told me to turn this way, and move that much, and shift over, and a million other things.

I abruptly realized that suddenly I could sense where everything was around me. It was the same thing I saw with my eyes open, I knew, but somehow . . . better. I could sense that droid there, and Padawan Tachi behind me, and the book lying on the floor there. I could smell the faint ozone smell as more shots connected with my blade. I could hear the subtle clicks as the droids sent off the shots. I could feel every flaw in the hilt I held, and could feel how to use it just so – so that I destroyed my enemies without sticking my neck out too far.

And everything seemed . . . connected. Like strange, glowing strings wove everything together, inside and outside, so that if, perhaps, I reached out and twitched one, something would move in response.

_This is _amazing_,_ I thought. _Is this what Jedi see?_

When the session was done, I pulled off the blindfold to see Padawan Tachi's stunned expression. Her eyes were wide with amazement as she looked at me with newfound respect. "Wow," she managed to say. "You're a natural, Skywalker. I've never seen _anyone_ get it that quickly."

I grinned and offered her a respectful bow. "Thank you very much for showing me how, Padawan Tachi," I murmured politely.

A slow smile crept across her face. "I have a feeling that we are going to get along very well, Skywalker. Well, now that you've mastered this, how about I show you how to move things with your mind?"

I blinked. "Really?" She nodded. "Show me, show me, show me!"

_Yeah, I get the feeling I'll get along with you very well too._

~ _Siri Tachi_ ~  
The sound of footsteps called me out of meditation. Rising, I peered down the path to see someone walking slowly across the grounds. She was dressed in Jedi robes, and I could feel a hidden aura about her, as if she concealed both great power and great secrets.

Then I recognized her as the Jedi apprentice who'd been standing next to Obi-Wan when I had walked out of my briefing.

I remembered how I'd thought of her as odd, presuming to have the authority to order the Council around. And the flash of surprise coupled with pained recognization I'd sensed from her before her shields had rammed down around her mind was unusual too, seeing as I really couldn't remember ever meeting her, even though I had gone though every single memory I could call up.

I decided to find out who she was . . . now.

"Excuse me?" I called, striding over to her. "Excuse me!"

She stopped and turned, giving me a better look. She had long brown hair that fell well past her shoulders and dark blue eyes that flickered with deep emotions. Her Padawan braid was mostly unadorned, which surprised me. She seemed old enough to have achieved and wear most of the markers senior Padawans wore.

Well, at least I _thought_ she looked old enough. She looked young, about my age, but at the same time seemed older. It was like her body was merely her physical age, whereas her eyes showed her true age. . . She was so strange.

_Now I'm definitely sure that I've never met her before. . . I would remember someone so strange, so unique. So why did I sense a flash of recognization from her earlier?_

"Ah. Siri Tachi," she said, smiling warmly. But her smile was a bit distracted, as if something was already on her mind and was bugging her.

_Oh. So she knows me. Now how in blazes did she get to know me without me knowing her?_ I decided to use a diplomatic tact. "You have the advantage over me. You know my name, but I do not know yours."

She laughed, and I sensed her full attention turn to our conversation. "Nice try. I know that trick. But in any case, my name is Kya Ranor."

I looked up sharply when I heard the last name. _I know that name._ "Ranor? From the Ranor line on Alderaan?"

Kya blinked, and surprise emanated from her. _Finally. I was starting to think she couldn't feel surprise._ "Well, yes – but how did you know that?" she asked, astonishment plain in her tone.

I stepped closer, not believing the fact that I was talking of a Jedi with this last name. "My Master and I were sent to investigate what was dubbed the Ranor incident by the request of the Alderaanian Senator two years ago," I told her. "There was a strange crash that no one seemed to understand, and they hoped we could solve it. I didn't know that there was Jedi from that family."

"You wouldn't," she said matter-of-factly; apparently she had recovered from her surprise. "I'm the first ever in that family born with the ability to touch the Force."

A thought occurred to me. "If you're part of that family, why didn't they send you and your Master to investigate?" I asked. "Wouldn't you have wanted to pay your last respects to your parents?"

Kya shifted uneasily. "The Council wanted to send an impartial team," she said finally. "I don't think I count as impartial."

"I'm sorry," I said, realizing my mistake a bit too late. _Well, my Master always said I was a bit too impulsive for diplomacy._ I cast about for another question to break the awkward silence. "Were you assigned to Naboo recently?"

"No. I chose to accompany Master Jinn and Obi-Wan here when they were ordered back with Queen Amidala."

I frowned at her words. "You _chose_? Who's your master?" I asked suspiciously. Even I didn't get to pick and chose my missions, and my Master was on the Jedi Council.

"He's on assignment on Utapau," she answered quickly – too quickly. "He decided to leave me behind because the mission was rather . . . dangerous."

My frown deepened. "But you're a senior Padawan! Surely you would be more a help than a burden! What kind of Master would – "

"The kind of Master who values the safety of his Padawan," Kya said flatly. The Force coiled around her as tension filled the air. "My Master made his choice. And the Council agreed with him. Ego has no place in a Jedi's heart. I have no doubt that he can deal with this issue. He too sits on the Council, Padawan Tachi."

The way she spoke my name sent a chill down my spine. _The tone is so cold I'm surprised the words don't freeze up in the air._

She inclined her head shortly. "Good night." Then she strode off, her cloak billowing behind her.

I stared after her. Why had she reacted so strongly to the mention of her Master? _And who is her Master, anyway?_

I pondered the question for a moment. It wasn't Masters Yoda or Windu. Or Masters Ki-Adi-Mundi or Billaba. I knew all of them, and none of them currently had a Padawan. Or, for that matter, were on assignment on Utapau.

_Where in blazes is this Utapau anyway? I should ask my Master to see which Master is on assignment there._

_I'll find out who you are, Kya Ranor_, I swore. _I will find out._


	39. Chapter 37

_**Chapter Thirty-Seven**_

**32 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
After the end of the Council meeting, I slipped away from Obi-Wan and the others. I didn't want to be further questioned by the Masters, and I just needed some quiet time, some alone time, to think and reflect and meditate. I had felt Obi-Wan's quiet acceptance of that fact as he let me slip away, and I was grateful beyond words for that.

Of course, running into Siri Tachi hadn't helped things. I was already wary of her, seeing as she and Obi-Wan had once fallen in love a long time ago. It didn't help that now _she_ was wary of _me_. _I shouldn't have reacted so strongly when she questioned my Master._ I sighed. _Oh, well. Done is done. I'll fix the damage later . . . if I have a later after everything I need to do. _

I glanced at the two glowing strands that remained on my wrist. _Teach Anakin about love. And then – or, perhaps, before that – defeat Sidious._

_Well, I'm making some headway on the second one_, I reasoned. _If the Masters don't realize who the Sith Master is by the end of these sessions, they'll be thicker than I thought. . ._

But, alas, I had no idea how in the universe I was supposed to teach _Anakin Skywalker_ about the true meaning of love. I wasn't quite sure yet about how falling in love myself would help either. While I had gained the feeling of someone else loving me in return, falling in love really had just added another complication and more muddled emotions.

"Kya! Kya!"

Recovering from my surprise, I glanced up with a faint smile at the excited voice as its owner dashed into my study room. Anakin's eyes were gleaming with excitement, and his chest heaved from his dash from wherever he'd been to me.

"Anakin, running around like that does not become a Jedi," I said sternly. When Anakin's face collapsed into a pout, I relented, bursting into laughter and motioning him to sit beside me on the bed.

"Now, what has you running when you could be walking?" I admonished. "I'm not going to be running away from you."

Anakin grinned, like a little kid who's just been told he can eat all the candy he wants. "I met Padawan Tachi, and she was teaching me some really cool moves. I can use the Force against the practice droids now, and move things, and work a bit with the lightsaber, and – "

All of this, I might mention, was said at the speed of light. So, I only got about half of whatever he was saying. Finally, I raised my hand and pleaded, "Whoa, Anakin, _slow down_, please! Let me catch up."

He consented, at least, to go about a millisecond slower, so I gave up and used the Force to aid comprehension. _Someone has given you a lot of sugar_, I concluded with amused exasperation. _Oh, well at least you'll be with one of us when you crash._

"Kya, can I ask you something?"

I started. I hadn't realized that he had stopped his speed-of-light-monologue. "What is it, Anakin?" I asked.

Anakin bit his lip, as if he was having trouble putting his thoughts together. Suddenly, all I could sense from him was nervousness and . . . embarrassment? I frowned inwardly. _What could make Anakin so embarrassed that he won't say it?_

"My, my, has someone replaced Anakin Skywalker?" I teased. "Because the little boy I remember never had a problem spitting out his words at the speed of light."

Anakin colored. "I am NOT a child."

"So it is you!" I exclaimed teasingly. "Oh, come on, Ani, just say it."

The teasing worked. "How come you and Obi-Wan know each other so well?" he asked in a frustrated tone. "You can start a sentence and he can finish it, without even looking at each other. What trick is that? Can you teach it to me?"

I laughed, now understanding Anakin's embarrassment. After all, he knew that I loved Obi-Wan deeply, and no doubt he felt a little jealous that Obi-Wan took up so much space in my thoughts. _Maybe he is even wondering what it will be like when, one day, it happens to him too._

"It is no trick, Anakin," I said affectionately. "It's what we call a Force-bond. Basically, the Force connects Obi-Wan to me and me to him specifically in such a way that we can share emotions and thoughts very easily. The Master-Padawan bond is similar to that, but not as deep."

"Master-Padawan bond?" Anakin repeated. "Will I have one?"

"Yes, of course. All Masters and Padawans have one. However, unlike my Force-bond with Obi-Wan, the Master-Padawan bond is terminated at the end of the apprenticeship and it is less sensitive."

Anakin eyed me. "What's so special about the bond between you and Obi-Wan?" he asked suspiciously.

I smiled. "It's special because it was not forged on purpose. Master-Padawan bonds are; that's why they can be terminated. But the bond I share with Obi-Wan was created by the Force, in what some theorize can be called a life-bond or soul-bond. It cannot be terminated by anything save death."

"That's a special bond," Anakin announced after a moment of digesting my words. "Do . . . Do many Jedi have one?"

I considered the question. _Qui-Gon did, but the key word there is "did". Qui-Gon can tell Anakin about Tahl in his own time. And Obi-Wan and I have one, but he knows that already._ "Well," I said slowly, arranging the words as carefully as I could, "it happens rarely to begin with. The appearance of such a Force-bond is a bond that rises between two kindred soulmates, and in the galaxy, finding your soulmate is rare in and of itself."

Anakin glared at me. "You're stalling," he complained. "You probably think I can't handle the real answer. But I can! And I promise I won't tell if it's a secret!"

_He's getting better at sensing these things with the Force_, I thought with a sigh. _I'll have to shield better._ "It's not a secret, Anakin. I'm just trying to figure out how to tell you. . ." I frowned and pondered the subject a bit more.

_How much should I tell him?_

Finally: "All right, let's try this explanation. Jedi do not often form attachments, as per the Jedi Code. So a life-bond isn't exactly encouraged. In any case, it happens so rarely that Jedi aren't too concerned about it. For example, besides me, I know of only a handful of other Jedi who have experienced this."

"Kya . . . Do you think _I'll_ ever get a life-bond?"

I hugged Anakin tightly. "I don't know, sweetheart. It all depends on the Force. But – " I slid off the bed and knelt, so that we were on the same eye level " – even if you don't get one, don't you dare think it's because you're a bad Jedi. Don't you dare, you hear me? It's hard to find a soul mate. Very, very, very hard. It will never be your fault if you don't manage to find that one person. _Never._"

Anakin nodded, but as he started to speak, his words were punctuated with a large yawn. I glanced outside to find with surprise that it was already dark out. _Wow, this took a lot longer than I thought._

"Now, enough with all of these philosophical questions! Off to bed, Anakin," I commanded. As the boy ran off, contentment in his aura, I thought, _Well, this was a start._

_I think._

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I woke up rather suddenly as a flash of alarm flew through me. I frowned, searching my room for any possible threats that could have triggered my danger sense. _Nothing. But why in blazes would I feel this way unless_ –

Then the alarm flashed through me again, and I realized that it wasn't the type of alarm I would get from the Force in my danger sense – it was a feedback across my bond. My bond with Kya.

That thought had me leaping out of bed while calling my lightsaber and cloak to me. The alarm I was sensing was a bit vague and a little distracted, but it was still alarm nonetheless. As I sprinted out of my room, I made a silent vow – if someone was hurting Kya, they would regret it to the extreme.

I would make sure of it.

The vague feeling of alarm intensified with each step I took. My heart started pounding, and not just because of the sudden exertion. I hadn't felt fear like this is so long that I was nearly getting light-headed because of it.

All of a sudden, the feeling of alarm vanished. I stopped mid-stride in astonishment and nearly groaned. _Oh, don't tell me that I went all this way only to find out she's already taken care of it!_ That would be like Kya, though; she always managed to just barely stay on top.

I closed my eyes and reached out through the bond to her. To my surprise, she hadn't reached back out to me in reassurance. I frowned as I sent a silent query to her along the bond, wondering what had happened. _What's going on? Why am I only getting silence back – _

All of a sudden pain and years of anguish burst through the bond. I frantically distanced myself from the bond. I felt like I had turned up the volume of my comlink as high as it could go and put it next to my ear only to hear someone on the other end shout something.

Rubbing at my forehead to try and ease the headache that the burst of pain had caused, I continued towards Kya's room – but at a slower pace. If Kya had been in danger, then I would have felt the mix of fear, alarm, and determination that I always sensed from her on those rare occasions. More than likely, the pain wasn't something serious, and I guessed that it was internal.

But, just to make sure, I might as well check.

Kya's room was dead quiet when I entered. I paused at the door to sense out a wave in the Force, and received only a single echo back. _Kya._ So Kya was the only one here; I would have sensed anyone else.

I sent out another silent query, but received no answer. _Is she purposely blocking me out?_ I frowned in concern. She had seemed rather unhappy after disengaging from the meld in the Council. Granted, that was to be expected. She had displayed for us the whole Battle of Geonosis, and I had sensed the sickening feeling that clouded that memory very easily. So when she had slipped away after the meeting, when I made to talk to her, I had let it pass.

_Kya?_ I called through the bond. _Kya, love, are you all right?_

There was no answer, but a faint turmoil rolled through the bond. _So she's not going to answer._ I stepped into her bedroom as more questions rose within me. It wasn't like Kya to blatantly ignore me.

Then I noticed why: Kya was sleeping.

But even as I released my grip on my lightsaber and stepped closer, I realized why things were rolling through the bond. Kya's expression was tight and painful, and she was tensed so much that I was surprised she hadn't fallen off of her bed yet. The blankets and sheets were rumpled from her constant tossing and turning.

I sighed. _A nightmare. She had a nightmare. _A touch of self-reproach entered my thinking. _I shouldn't have left her alone after the Council meeting._

Moving closer, I sat on the edge of the bed and touched her shoulder lightly. At the same time, I reached out through the bond to the restless, pain-filled sea of turmoil that was my love's mind. To my surprise, I gained entry easily.

Then, when the memory came flying at me and gripped with so hard that I couldn't escape, I understand why nightmares left Kya so crippled.

"_No! No, stop, please!" _

_Tears were streaming down Kya's cheeks, but the hooded man only grinned and tightened his fist. Kya herself was bound and chained. She had no chance of escape. She couldn't be more than thirteen years old._

_The man in front of her was covered with wounds – so many, many wounds that the current state his Jedi robes were in made the title "rags" seem dignified. He stiffened and choked as the man tightened his fist._

"_Give in to your anger, little Jedi," the man hissed. He raised his fist higher, and the Jedi on the floor started turning blue as he fought for air. "Give in to your anger, and you can free him."_

"_Let him go!"_

"_Give in to your anger, and you can free your Master and have your revenge," the man cooed. "Won't that feel good? Revenging your Master?"_

_---_

_Hands, hands, hands everywhere. Hands that snatched away the concealing hood and cloak; hands that wrestled the lightsaber away; hands that seized me and held me still._

_"So, you're a Jedi?" A man slowly walked down, examining and measuring with a slimy, greedy look in his pale gray eyes. _

_"Let me go." I spoke the words slowly and surely, putting the full power of the Force behind them. Some of my captors flinched and drew away as I expanded my aura and oppressed the minds around me. It was a brutal tactic to work on innocents, but the Jedi Council needed the information I had now, and I didn't have time to waste being pleasant. _

_"Let's see . . . NO." He stopped in front of me and faced away. "Tell me, apprentice, why is it that every Jedi who is sent here is always so . . . tempting? Does your Jedi Council think I can be seduced by your beauty and turn a blind eye and you run amok on my planet?"_

_"You defied the laws of the Republic," I snapped. "Justice will always find her way, and if it is the will of the Force that Jedi are sent to deal it, sent to deal with it Jedi will be."_

_"What is this will of the Force you speak of? There is no such thing, child. You are very naive." He turned around and took ahold of my chin. "But I and time will change that. You are young, but that will make the lesson all the sweeter."_

_I gazed at him with dawning horror. "Don't you dare touch me," I hissed, jerking backwards. "You forget that I am still an apprentice. Are you willing to evoke the rage of my Master?"_

_He stared at me calmly. "Frankly, I don't care." _

_I felt a prick in the side of my neck and suddenly my muscles were turning to water. I couldn't stand, couldn't fight, couldn't even keep my eyes open. I heard a chilling laugh._

_"When you awaken, the lesson will begin."_

_---_

_Too slow, too slow! Dooku was there, and just as I burst onto the scene, he raised his fingers and a blast of Force-lightning emerged, aimed straight for the wounded Zett on the floor._

_"No!"_

_I leaped straight forward, and the Force propelled me directly in front of Zett. I screamed as lightning erupted all around me, paralyzing me with electric bolts that made my vision flicker and my hearing distort and the Force vanish._

With a gasp, I pulled myself out of the bond. I surveyed Kya, still caught in the throes of a nightmare composed of her worst memories.

_This is going to be harder than I thought._


	40. Chapter 38

_**Chapter Thirty-Eight**_

**32 BBY**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I shook Kya gently, not wanting to startle her but really wanting to wake her. She didn't respond, and I sighed. _She's too deep into these memories; their hold on her is too strong._

_I need to find a way to protect her mind from these memories_, I decided. I couldn't just sit here and watch her fall victim to nightmares every night. _Maybe I can work a Force-command through the bond to shield her mind._

Closing my eyes, I opened the bond again. Memories battered at me once more when I dove into her mind, but I tightened my shields and drew on the Force for strength. I sent out a Force probe, drawing on the deep connection I shared with Kya.

_Kya! Kya, wake up!_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
With a gasp, I shot straight up in bed as someone's mind trespassed into my most personal memories. Blinking away sleep, I called the Force to me. _Who would be able to get that far past my shields – _

"Kya."

At the sound of his familiar, caring voice, I relaxed and allowed the Force to drain away. I sagged, relieved that it was only Obi-Wan. _No wonder. He is the only one who could bypass my shields so easily._

Obi-Wan scooted on to the bed after discarding his boots and cloak and drew me into his arms. I didn't bother to resist, leaning against him wearily and resting my head on his chest. I closed my eyes as one of his hands stroked my hair and warm affection flowed through the bond to me.

Slowly, I felt my tense muscles relax and the turmoil in my mind begin to fade away. It just didn't matter right now. Obi-Wan did. I did. That was it.

_Do you have nightmares often?_

The question was accompanied with more than a simple touch of concern, but I ignored it. This time, I decided, he had a right to be concerned. I would nag him about nagging me later.

_No._

_Liar_, came his warm retort. He rested his chin on my head. _I know you're lying._

I sighed. _I can't hide anything from you anymore, can I?_ After he tightened his hug affectionately and a mental laugh echoed through our bond, I continued._ I get them sometimes. Usually after I've been exhausted physically or mentally._

Obi-Wan nodded slowly as he processed the words. _And you reviewing your memories in the Council tired you out, didn't it?_

_Unfortunately._ For a moment, I was quiet. Then: _Thank you for interfering._

Obi-Wan smiled. _I felt your distress in the Force, so I came at once. I thought you were in some sort of danger._

He paused, just like I had, and I sent a silent question. _What's wrong?_

_Nothing. I'm just wondering . . . Do you think, if I worked a Force-command through the bond, I could silence these nightmares?_

I pulled away from his embrace and met his eyes, blue-green orbs of swirling emotions. All I sensed from him was concern, deep concern, for me. _Do you think it would work?_

He met my eyes squarely. _I don't know. But . . . I want to try anyways. If I can spare you these nightmares, then it will be worth the effort._ One of his hands rose to tilt my chin up so that we made eye contact again. _But only if you want to._

I hesitated, leaning back against him as I considered his proposition. I already knew Obi-Wan would never willingly hurt me; him telling me this last bit was rather unnecessary. But this issue was bigger than whether or not I trusted in Obi-Wan. _But what . . . If I let him in my mind, will he be safe? Can I control my own turmoil so that nothing goes wrong?_ I thought to myself, careful to shield the thoughts from Obi-Wan.

_What if _I_ end up hurting_ you_?_ I asked finally. I was pretty sure all of my concerns were summed up in that question.

Obi-Wan squeezed my shoulder reassuringly when he heard the question, a smile flickering across his face. He shook his head slowly; not in negation, but in exasperated amusement. _I trust you_, he said simply.

I inhaled deeply and closed my eyes. _Be careful._ Then I slowly worked the bond open, lowering every shield except those that I did not dare to remove. After that was done, I worked to erect other shields that would hold back the more dangerous memories.

I felt Obi-Wan enter my mind moments later. To my surprise, the strange sensation didn't really bother me as much as I had thought it would. Then again, Obi-Wan had entered my mind before, so my mind was probably accustomed to his presence now. Maybe it was just a foreign concept for me because he had only entered whenever I had been unconscious.

_Or perhaps last night_, I thought, feeling my face heat up at that thought. I couldn't really compare the experience to anything else, as I had no intention of loving anyone besides Obi-Wan now and had never loved anyone before him.

But, then again, I sort of didn't want anyone else. Obi-Wan was the same kind of lover as he was a Jedi: fiercely protective, selfless, gentle, and loving, among others. Another man might not be as gentle or as loving as he was. And with Obi-Wan, at least I knew for certain that he loved me for me, not for any advantages or personal agendas or anything else, and that he understood me perfectly, because we were both Jedi well on the way to Knighthood.

I winced as Obi-Wan started working the Force-command. My mind started to fight it, so immediately we engaged in a bit of a three-way war. There was Obi-Wan on one side, trying to work the Force-command so that it was effective yet didn't really hurt or bother me. Then there was my unconsciousness, trying to fight off the influence of an outside presence. And lastly there was me, trying to keep my unconsciousness from acting up too much and clear the way for Obi-Wan.

At last, I felt something snap, and the Force suddenly manifested in my mind with an astonishing clarity. A powerful command gripped me suddenly, turning my insides insides out and making me gasp in surprise. Then all of the unpleasant sensations, sickening memories, and everything else just . . . poof! vanished.

My startled eyes flashed open to meet Obi-Wan's smiling face. He withdrew from my mind at once when he sensed the snap and laid the command down, not even lingering to take a second glance at any memories that had slipped past my flickering control.

"You did it!" I whispered hoarsely, too shocked to use our bond to communicate.

He took me tenderly in his arms. _Only with your aid and only because of your love_, he replied firmly.

I smiled in return and was about to reply when suddenly pain appeared in my stomach; sharp, jabbing pain, as if someone had just kicked me in the stomach. I doubled over and nearly fell off the bed, half due to my surprise and half due to the agony.

A small part of me registered Obi-Wan seizing my arms and slowing my descent to the floor. When the pain finally disappeared as quickly as it had come, I found myself cradled in his arms as his anxious blue-green eyes searched my own.

_What happened?_ he fretted. _Has this ever happened before? Are you okay?_

I leaned against him, my mind slow and sluggish with sleepiness. _Don't know. Never felt like this before._

Obi-Wan's lips tightened as he processed my response. I knew that he wasn't satisfied with my answer, but with my exhaustion I knew he knew that he wasn't getting any better answers out of me tonight. Then he stood suddenly, lifting me so quickly that I squeaked in surprise and clutched at his tunic.

_I'm not going to drop you, love_, he said affectionately.

_Don't scare me like that!_ I snapped.

He chuckled warmly as he deposited me on the bed and then came around to lie beside me. I rolled over into his open embrace, and felt his arms lock into a circle around me. I snuggled closer with a sigh, for some reason feeling safer than I'd ever felt.

I put a hand on his chest. _Stay with me tonight?_ I felt childish asking the question, but I was tired and confused and recovering from pain, so most of my inhibitions were gone.

He stroked my hair. _Of course. Go to sleep. I'll make sure nothing troubles you._

Between his steady heartbeats, which resounded by my ear in a soothingly reassuring pattern, and the warm affection flowing through the bond, I soon had almost completely drifted off. But I struggled to awaken, a little bit at least, to ask one more question.

_Obi-Wan?_

_Hmm?_

_What did I do to deserve you?_

My last feeling was him laughing quietly at my question, and my last thought was that I would probably regret losing my inhibitions in the morning.

~ _Darth Sidious_ ~  
I growled in sudden anger as a powerful presence suddenly pulled Ranor out of her Force-induced coma and pushed me out. Trying to calm myself – and hoping that the fluctuation had just been momentary – I reached out again . . .

Only to be blocked.

Anger burned within me. This was a new technique, one that I had been experimenting with for several years now. It allowed me to, by way of the Force, plant nightmares within the minds of other Force-users when they were sleeping. The more powerful the Force-user, the more violent the nightmare, because then the mind would try to fight me and the nightmare would react by becoming more independent and a lot worse than my original intent.

It had caused me no end of delight to realize that even with all of her power, Ranor was still vulnerable to the technique. Twice I had utilized it against her, but both times someone had interrupted, throwing me abruptly out of her mind. And when I had reached out after Ranor had fallen back asleep, the same calm, protective presence as now had shielded her from my reach.

My lips curled in disgust as I probed the shield. It had been erected recently, I sensed, but it was almost . . . _It is an instinctive shield, not of any design._

It was a shield of a soulmate, of a life-bond.

My rage inflamed. All of times for Ranor to find her soulmate! Now it would close to impossible to manipulate Ranor via her dreams. The life-bond behind the shield was already completed.

I considered the possibilities, and a new one occurred to me. Life-bonds could only be completed so solidly by one act – total acknowledgement of the bond, usually through consummation. Whoever it was the Force had drawn her to, Ranor had acknowledged him and taken him as her lover.

_A total breach of the Jedi Code_, I realized. I doubted any of the other Jedi realized this, for life-bonds were very, very rare, and Jedi often ignored them if one was created. Even if they realized that the life-bond between Ranor and Kenobi was complete, they would have no way of knowing that the only way to complete one was to shatter the rules of the Jedi Code into a thousand shards.

With this newfound knowledge, I started examining the Force-signature behind the shield. This would tell me who, of all people, had attached himself to Ranor and was protecting her. It had to be a Jedi, for no one else would be able to plant a Force-command in her mind to protect her from me.

When I recognized the signature, I cursed in anger. _Kenobi._

So. My worst fears were realized. The bond that gave the two of them such power in a fight was not one born of purpose or occasion, but of instinct – of the Force, guiding together two kindred souls and tying their fate and souls together in a bond that was only terminated by death. And Kenobi, by bonding with such a powerful Jedi, was even more powerful now, for soulmates could join their power and fight as a single, unstoppable entity.

_There is no way now that I can harm Ranor by the Force anymore_, I realized grimly._ Any damage must be inflicted physically from now on. Otherwise, due to the life-bond, Kenobi will counter me at every avenue possible._

That would force my hand, in turn. I would have to utilize my worst weapon possible, then, to draw Ranor's anger and attention. I would not wait for Ranor to reveal my identity to the Jedi Council and have them storm down to fight me. I had no problems about fighting the Jedi Masters; they were no match.

It was Ranor and Kenobi that caused me to pause. I, despite all of my power and wisdom and cunning and planning, was still no match for a true and complete life-bonded pair.

As I rose to prepare for this, my ultimate test and the key to my final victory, I had only two consolations.

Firstly, because of this life-bond, Kenobi would drive himself to protect Ranor no matter what and she would do the same, risking everything and anything. _The life-bond will be the undoing of the bonded soulmates. Perfect._

And secondly, to terminate the life-bond, I would use the sacred technique gleaned from hours of meditation and studying the Unknown Regions. _To destroy the last Walker, I will utilize the ultimate technique of protection taught to the Walkers._

The irony of both consolations was enough to cool my rage.

* * *

Happy New Year's, everyone!


	41. Chapter 39

_**Chapter Thirty-Nine**_

**32 BBY**

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
When I entered Obi-Wan's rooms only to find them empty, to say I was startled was a grave understatement. _The sheets and blankets are all over the place – so he did come here and fall asleep, but for some reason left._ But where would he go in the middle of the night? What could possibly disturb my former Padawan, who I knew to be one of the soundest sleepers in the Jedi Order?

I reached out to the Force to get a residue of the last emotions Obi-Wan had felt before he rushed off to . . . to wherever he had gone.

_Calm, peace. . . Then a sudden spike of alarm and anguish. . ._ I frowned. What would cause Obi-Wan alarm and anguish? _And then a return to calm. . . And then another jab, even stronger, causing my apprentice to flee to – _

I sighed. _Kya. No wonder._ Obi-Wan's bond with Kya must have alerted to him something was wrong, and he must have rushed out without a second's hesitation.

But I, who had more experience in the ways of the Force, could only shake my head at my former Padawan's impulsiveness. The alarm and anguish I had sensed was severely watered down, enough so that I knew that Kya hadn't been sending it on purpose; she had most likely had a nightmare of sorts, and Obi-Wan had been getting the echoes of it.

Turning, I made my way to Kya's rooms. But the sight that greeted me when I entered was enough to stop me dead in my tracks and nearly fall over in surprise.

Obi-Wan was facing away from me, his breathing deep and even and his mind at peace. Kya was nestled against him, her head on his chest and his arms in a protective circle around her. Her dark hair contrasted sharply with the cream color of both of their tunics, but otherwise the two seemed perfect for each other.

The picture of the two of them, sleeping so peacefully that they hadn't noticed my presence yet, seemed so right that I felt like an outside intruder into their life. Obi-Wan had angled himself just _so_; so that he shielded Kya from anyone's eyes or aim, making me feel like an intruder even more. Kya, for her part, was relaxed in the circle of his arms, indicating to me the trust she had in Obi-Wan as well as the affection she felt.

And when I reached out to the Force to confirm everything, I barely held in a gasp. The bond between them was so much more powerful, all of a sudden. But the true potential of it was hidden from me; trying to grasp it felt like trying to grasp water.

My mouth went dry; there was only one type of bond like this that I knew of. "A life-bond," I whispered, unable to believe it until I heard it. "Stars above, they have a completed _life-bond_."

The rarest of all bonds, life-bonds were. And yet, here a very powerful one was staring at me in the face, one that had arisen between two Padawans who, a year ago, didn't even know the other existed.

I sighed, leaning against the wall. _No wonder Obi-Wan is the only one who can reach her in danger or understand her so well or fight with her._ I felt peace enter my mind concerning these two young ones. While the Jedi Council did not understand attachment, they understood life-bonds.

_They will not dare to fight a life-bond._ As life-bonds were orchestrated by the Force, they were the pure manifestation of the will of the Force between two people, but most especially Force-users. Now Mace would not dare to push for the termination of the bond now, for the only way to destroy it was through death. Not even Kya or Obi-Wan could break the bond now that it was completed, assuming they even wished to.

And from the sight in front of me, they didn't.

Obi-Wan suddenly stirred and turned over. When he saw me, he froze, his blue-green eyes going wide with fear – and with determination. I saw how he tensed before me, how he shifted to shield Kya from me.

_He will not risk her safety, even for me, the one who has been his Master for nigh unto twelve years now_, I thought, amused.

Meeting the eyes of the one I saw as a son, I said quietly, "Don't try to defend yourself. I know what has happened." At Obi-Wan's confused expression, I added, "You have found your soulmate, through the formation of the life-bond."

He blinked. "You . . . You aren't going to tell me off for breaking the Code?"

"Life-bonds are the will of the Force. Who am I to deny that?" I smiled at the confusion I sensed. "Obi-Wan, you do not need my approval, but if you think you do, than you have it."

I deliberately turned around and walked away, leaving him to ponder my words. Then I paused in the doorway, and said over my shoulder, "You had better get up soon. The Council meeting will begin very shortly."

~ _Siri Tachi_ ~  
"Master, pardon me if I seem intrusive, but – "

"That never bothered you before," my Master, Adi Gallia, said dryly from where she sat at the table. We had just finished our usual morning meditation and ate breakfast, and I was standing at the sink putting the dishes away. "What's on your mind, Padawan?"

I turned to face her. "Why is the whole Council assembled here?" I asked. "Obi-Wan won't be Knighted until we return to Coruscant anyways, and the celebration here is over."

My Master smiled. "Diplomacy was never your strong suit, was it, Padawan? No, it is not because of any of those reasons that we remain here. It is at the request of Padawan Ranor."

I frowned. "What kind of Padawan learner can presume to order the Jedi High Council around?" I muttered.

"She is no mere apprentice," my Master informed me gently, but with a hint of steel in her tone. Her blue eyes were just as steely. "Do not attempt to trifle with her, Siri; Kya Ranor is much more than she seems."

I changed tack. "Well, then who is her Master? She looks like someone who would practice Vaapad."

My Master laughed. "Oh, so here the senses of my noble and sensitive Padawan have failed. No, my dear, she is a practitioner of Soresu, actually."

"She seems too . . . confident to wield the most defensive form of lightsaber combat," I said doubtfully, remembering how she had carried herself. She was confident, and powerful, and skilled. Why would she practice _Soresu_, of all the lightsaber forms?

"It is the chosen form of her Master; why else?" my Master returned. "As to confidence – you know just as well as I do that confidence is no indication of what lightsaber form you choose."

"Who _is_ her Master?" I asked, getting frustrated. My Master was most obviously concealing something from me, and I was getting very annoyed. _Just tell me already! If it's a secret, well, I can keep a secret. Out with it!_

"Adi," interrupted a deep masculine voice. I looked up as my Master rose to see Master Qui-Gon Jinn standing there silently. One of his eyebrows was raised questioningly at us, but otherwise his expression was impassive.

I bowed. "Master Jinn," I said formally.

His lips twitched into a faint smile. "Siri Tachi." Then he returned his attention to my Master. "Adi, we're beginning now. Unless you wish to miss it? I could convey your excuse to the Council, if you wish."

"You would just love to do that, wouldn't you?" my Master retorted dryly. She turned to me. "Siri, I'll probably be embroiled in this for the rest of the day, so the day is yours. Just don't get into trouble."

"I'm a Jedi. I don't go looking for trouble; trouble finds _me_."

"Cheeky," my Master said affectionately on the way out.

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
I was practicing with the droids again when Padawan Tachi appeared in the doorway. Sensing her presence, I deactivated my lightsaber and spun around to face her.

She glanced around, seeing the remains of the droids around me, and smiled shortly. "You've gotten better," she allowed. "But your footwork still needs some improvement." She activated her own lightsaber and began doing the same exact moves, careful to slowly demonstrate the footwork needed.

As I watched her, my mind started to drift. I'd been puzzling over what Kya had said last night, and still sort of didn't make sense. She'd said: I know of only a handful of other Jedi who have experienced this."

_So who? Which Jedi?_ Obi-Wan and Kya, obviously, but who else did I know?

I glanced over at Padawan Tachi. She was clever, fiery, skilled, and potent, and I could see the beauty in her, even though I wasn't attracted to her. Surely _she_ had experienced a life-bond like Kya had.

"You're not watching, are you?"

I started as Padawan Tachi's dry voice cut through my thoughts. "Sorry," I mumbled, flushing as I realized how long she'd been standing there, arms crossed, waiting for me to return my attention to the present.

She laughed. "No, you're not. If I may ask, what were you thinking of? What thought required all of your attention?"

I hesitated. Kya had warned me that life-bonds were rare, very rare. . . So should I bring it up? "Have you ever experienced a life-bond?" I blurted out.

Padawan Tachi froze at my words, blinking rapidly. Surprise emanated from her as she absorbed my words. "What makes you say that?" she asked slowly.

I shrugged, surprised at her reaction. _Maybe this wasn't the best idea. Best to play dumb._ "I came across the term, and I don't really understand it. What is it?"

She bit her lip. "Life-bonds are a bonding between two souls," she explained finally. "It is absolute, rare, and powerful. Only death can destroy or even lessen such a bond."

So, Kya seemed to have spoken the truth. _She didn't hide anything from me._ I felt a bit of relief. I had thought, due to Obi-Wan, that she would conceal things from me. . . After all, wouldn't her love for Obi-Wan take precedence over me?

Apparently not.

"Do you have one?" I asked. _Surely, if she knows so much about it, she must have had a firsthand experience with it. . ._

Padawan Tachi's face hardened. "No. You are new to the Order, Anakin Skywalker, so I will not say anything to anyone else – but from now on, you should know that love is forbidden to all Jedi. Life-bonds, even though they are created by the Force, are about love and attachment and possessiveness, and thus no Jedi is allowed one."

"What's so bad about love?" I asked. _Kya and Obi-Wan are in love, but they aren't evil. . . What's so wrong about loving someone and missing them and wanting them?_ "Isn't it just normal nature, our base instincts, to love someone?"

"Jedi aren't normal people," Padawan Tachi said sharply. "We do not indulge in things such as possessiveness and love. It is against the Jedi Code."

"The what?"

I could sense that could barely hold back rolling her eyes. "The Jedi Code. The ultimate rules that govern the Jedi Order. Even the Jedi High Council is not above the rules of the Jedi Code. Any Jedi who disobeys these rules are expelled from the Jedi Order." She paused. "It's best that you don't think of these thoughts, Anakin."

I could only nod and murmur, "I understand." But in truth, I didn't.

I needed to talk to Kya about this.


	42. Chapter 40

_**Chapter Forty**_

**32 BBY**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
"Why?" I demanded abruptly. "Why, Master?"

"I'm not your Master anymore, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said with a touch of amusement and an impassive face that irritated me beyond belief, even after all of these years of seeing it as his apprentice. "You don't have to call me that anymore."

I glared at him, barely keeping my calm, even with the Force. "Just answer the question!" I snapped, completely disregarding Jedi protocol, which called for absolute respect for one's elders, even and most especially one's former Master. "_Why?_"

Needless to say, I was not in a good mood. I had been sleeping soundly and peacefully by Kya's side, assured that she was safe. And then to wake up and realize that someone was standing by the door, watching Kya and me! And then Qui-Gon had only told me not to say anything and walked out after nonchalantly telling me that I better get up.

Kya had sensed my distress when she woken up, but I had pushed it aside, assuring her nothing was wrong. I had wanted to find this out for myself before I got Kya upset over it. My love had far more than enough on her mind already.

Besides, I had thought I could deal with Qui-Gon better than her.

Qui-Gon erupted in laughter. "You remind me so much of myself that it's downright funny," he said between laughs.

I glared even harder. "Cut it out! I am not like you!"

He smiled. "Oh, yes, you are. Dear me, it seems that your overprotectiveness is emerging, and it is not happy. This wouldn't have to do with me not saying anything after realizing that the two of you have a completed life-bond, would it?"

I drew back, surprised at his words so much that I was shocked out of my anger. On one hand, I had expected him to deny everything. On the other – _how does he know that the bond is complete? Are we that easy to see through?_

Qui-Gon caught the thread of my thoughts through the training bond we still shared – which would be terminated during my Knighting ceremony – and snorted.

"No, you two are actually very hard to see through, especially with Kya's shields. But you were my apprentice for twelve years, Obi-Wan. I can pretty much guess at what you're thinking by looking at those expressions of yours. And the Force was practically swarming around you; it wasn't difficult to realize the bond was complete."

"Why are you covering up for us?" I asked, troubled as much by his admission now as by his silence earlier. "Why didn't you just tell the Council?"

Qui-Gon's eyebrow rose. "You haven't realized it by now?" As I shook my head, he explained, "I am a Jedi who has devoted my life to following the Living Force; you know that, Obi-Wan. It doesn't take a Master to realize that bond between you and Kya is the will of the Force, and I will not go against that. As to the Council – well, I'm sure that whenever they stop over-analyzing Kya's memories, they too will realize it in time. Your bond is the most powerful I have ever sensed."

"But do you disapprove of it? I mean, it goes completely against the Jedi Code!" To my surprise, my tone was almost pleading. I . . . I _needed_ to hear his approval – or disapproval. _Guess I'll never stop being Qui-Gon Jinn's Padawan learner in some ways._

Qui-Gon snorted again. "Since when would that stop me? You forget that I had a life-bond once too, Obi-Wan."

I blinked. _Oh, yeah._ Tahl. The Jedi who he had pledged his life and heart to.

"I didn't hesitate to defy the Jedi Code for her, but I hesitated before completing the bond because I was afraid," Qui-Gon admitted bluntly. "I was so stupid. I should have acknowledged it right then and there, because then it would have been easier for me to save her. But I didn't, and the bond collapsed because I hadn't sealed it when I had the chance. If I had sealed the bond . . . then perhaps I could have saved her."

I stood, stunned. Qui-Gon had never ever opened up about Tahl like this. It had been the unspoken topic that I was not to discuss, the informal conversation that I was not supposed to participate in.

Qui-Gon reached out to touch my shoulder. "I am glad that you, at least, have more sense than I did then. You did what is right. Now that the bond is complete, the Council cannot remove it – no one can. If you seek my approval, Obi-Wan, then know that you have it, wholeheartedly and without hesitation."

I bowed to my old Master, then, feeling a gratitude that I could only add to the debt I was accumulating to my Master on this mission, the final mission for the two of us as a team. "Thank you," I whispered, so softly that I wasn't sure he heard it.

But I know he did anyway, because he winked as he strode away.

~ _Vereora_ ~  
I knelt, not even bothering to attempt to look up when my Master entered. I was still smarting from my latest failure. In my time alone, I had thought of some rather snappish retorts, though. After all, Maul hadn't fared any better against the two apprentices; at least _I_ had gotten away.

But I didn't dare to say them aloud. That would be downright stupid, and Sith were anything but stupid.

"I have a new task," he said without preamble. He paused, and I frowned. _Why doesn't he tell me what the task is?_

"Vereora, you have rarely disappointed me, so this will be your second chance. Think of it as your last chance to prove yourself worthy. Do not fail me, or else . . ." He let his voice trail off, the implied threat of punishment – or worse, banishment – saturating every single word he spoke as well as the silence that followed.

"Of course, my Master."

"You will need to study this map of Queen Amidala's quarters," he told me shortly, handing me a datapad. "And knock her out before you do anything, if possible. Leaving her awake will send echoes through the Force that will alert every single Jedi in the palace."

He hesitated, and then handed by a strange looking glass bottle. I barely kept from shivering when I touched it. It was just an inanimate object, but the dark side radiated from it. . . The dark side, and hints of something older and seemingly darker and more potent than that.

My frown deepened. _There was nothing before the dark side, and nothing more._ There was a swish of a cloak and the sliding of the door, and my Master was gone.

I stood and turned on the datapad. _I will complete this mission, and before sunrise. I _will_ become a Sith._

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
"Kya, why is love against the Jedi Code?"

"_What?_" Totally distracted from my work, I straightened and turned to face Anakin. He bit his lip and shuffled his feet, obviously embarrassed – but still wanting an answer.

I sighed and passed a hand over my eyes. _It's not even dinnertime yet; what is with these philosophical questions?_

I had adjourned the Council meeting shortly after noon, leaving the memories of saving the Chancellor and departing for Utapau with my Master lingering in their minds. They had had enough excitement, I reasoned, as I had spent a great deal of time demonstrating newfound Force-techniques that the Jedi had discovered during the Clone Wars.

Tomorrow, if I felt up to it, maybe I would reveal the Palpatine's identity as Darth Sidious, the Sith Master.

"Why do you ask, Ani?" I asked tiredly.

"Well," he answered awkwardly and timidly, obviously wanting an answer but uncertain how to phrase the question, "I asked Padawan Tachi about life-bonds, and she said they were against the Jedi Code, and love was bad and always led to the dark side. But – But you love Obi-Wan, and he loves you, and you aren't bad or part of the dark side!"

I relaxed as I why he had asked the question, but some part of my mind still grumbled that it was too late in the day for these types of questions. I sat on my bed, considering how best to answer this question.

It would not do to alienate Anakin by telling him bluntly that he had to let go of his mother – he was only nine years old, after all, and that advice had only turned him against the Jedi and made it harder for him to accept Padmé's fate.

Finally, I said slowly, "Anakin, there are many different types of love in the universe. The Jedi are referring to one type, and you are referring to another."

Anakin nodded at my words, to my surprise. "I know. I mean, I love my mom just like you love Obi-Wan, but those types of love are different," he said knowledgably.

I smiled tiredly. "No, Anakin. That's not the distinction I meant. Of course, love can be separated like that, but it also can be defined as what is acceptable for a Jedi and what is not. The Jedi Code, you know, forbids possessiveness and selfishness, as it goes against who we are. Do you follow me?"

"Maybe."

"Very well. Let me try again. The Jedi Code doesn't allow for attachment for a single reason: it leads to possessiveness and protectiveness and fear, and fear leads to anger – "

" – and anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering," Anakin finished quickly. At my raised eyebrow, he explained, "Master Yoda said the same thing to me when we were talking about my mother."

"Oh? Interesting." _So, even in the very beginning, they feared Anakin's attachment._ I frowned. _While I understand it, they should not have alienated him simply because of this. . ._

"But I don't understand _why_," Anakin burst out at my frown. "How can love lead to hate?"

"Quite easily," I said soberly. "Listen, Ani: you love your mother, right? You want to help her, to free her, to protect her. You fear for her safety. Soon, that fear would turn to anger – anger directed towards those who have either harmed your mother or have kept you from your mother. Then that anger would become pure hatred, and your conceptions of the world, of right and wrong, of what really happened, would be blurred. And through acting on that hatred, suffering would be the only outcome." I paused before saying gently, "And since the Jedi are the ones who now keep you from your mother, Anakin – "

"I would never ever hurt anyone for that reason!" Anakin exclaimed, picking up on where I was going easily. "Never never never! That's – That's just _evil_!"

I was silent for a moment. "But it has happened, Anakin. Many Jedi have felt the pull of the dark side because of this. Even I have felt the thrill and used the power of the dark side. And believe me, when the dark side took hold of me, I was perfectly capable of killing even Obi-Wan if he crossed my path and tried to stop me."

Anakin drew back, fear flickering in his blue eyes.

"It happened long ago," I said hastily. "But do you understand now? The dark side, and the Sith – they are all about anger and rage and hatred. They fight because of past wrongs, for possessions. That is why Jedi are not encouraged to follow that path."

"But I still love my mom!" Anakin protested. "How will the Council ever accept me? I can't just stop loving her."

"You don't have to," I said gently. "I told you before, there are different types of love. There is the love of the dark side, which urges you always to possess, to hold, to prove your dominance. And then there is the love of the light, the love the Jedi practice – letting go."

"I can't let go of her!"

"You misunderstand," I said sharply, alarmed at the way this conversation was going. It sounded a bit too much like what the Skywalker in my universe had exclaimed about Senator Amidala. _I cannot allow him to go down that path. Only suffering comes of it._ "I said let go; I did _not_ say stop loving her."

"That's just splitting hairs," Anakin complained.

"No, it isn't. You can love someone. That is enough. You do not need to possess them or babysit them." When Anakin continued to look doubtful, I asked, "Do you really think your mother is incapable of taking care of herself?"

"No, of course not!"

I nodded. "Then slowly let go of her. Don't forget her and don't stop loving her; but teach yourself to realize that she is her own person just as much as she is your mother."

Anakin still looked unhappy with what I had said. I cocked my head to the side as an old saying entered. I decided to try it. "Didn't your mother ever tell you about something called an open heart?" I asked softly.

Anakin nodded. "Of course. 'Hearts have infinite room, so learn to live with an open one to accept and give all you can,'" he recited.

I smiled tightly. This was exactly what I'd hoped for. "So follow her advice. Love with an open heart."

_Holding a therapist session, my love?_

I started as another mind touched my own and, standing up, I turned towards the doorway to see Obi-Wan leaning against the door frame. His lips were twitched up into a small smile, and his blue-green eyes were shining warmly at us. He had somehow managed to conceal his presence from me, but now that I saw him, the shield dropped away and the bond hummed to life with his steady and affectionate presence.

Anakin followed my gaze. When he saw Obi-Wan, he jumped in surprise so high that he almost cleared the bed. "How'd you get in without us knowing?" he demanded after he made it safely back to earth – uh, Naboo, courtesy of the Force.

Obi-Wan merely smiled mysteriously. "Jedi are very quiet," he said in a lecturing tone. "It takes a lot of self-control, Anakin."

_Unlike someone I could mention._

_I _did_ sneak in without your famous heightened abilities sensing me, Kya_, he sent back, smirking at my silent fuming.

_We were distracted._

_If I had been an enemy – _

_If you're going to insult us, go away_, I grumbled playfully. I was tired and my brain hurt; I was not in the mood to be polite. I heard the resonance of mental laughs echoing over the bond as Obi-Wan said to Anakin, "One day you'll be able to sneak up on other people too."

Anakin's eyes lit up. "Really? Teach me!"

Obi-Wan laughed at Anakin's enthusiasm, even and probably especially considering the time. "Not right now. It's dinner time. And Queen Amidala wants you to join her for dinner tonight. Will you accept? I can always convey your regrets – "

"I'm going, I'm going!" Anakin dashed out the door so quickly that Obi-Wan barely managed to move out of the way in time to not get run over.

"Anakin, remember to put on your good outfit!" I called. I felt Anakin's aura turn chagrined as he realized that he looked like a mess after a day of practicing with droids. Then I sighed as his pace only increased.

Obi-Wan chuckled, shaking his head at the boy's antics as well as my frustration. Then he stepped forward and took my hands in his. "I think you've played mother-figure long enough, Kya," he said warmly.

I smiled in return. As I gazed tiredly into his blue-green eyes, concern entered them and shaded his side of the bond. "How are you?"

I smiled, wrapping my arms around him and resting my head on his chest. He returned the hug at once, pulling me against him. _I'm fine. Today wasn't as bad as yesterday, thank the Force._

Calm relief filled Obi-Wan, and he sighed, some part of him relaxing at my words, although he didn't loosen his embrace.

I frowned as I sensed his relief and pulled away. _What did you do? This morning you were as tense – and grumpy – as a cornered krayt dragon._

Obi-Wan's eyes darkened slightly at my words, but a teasing glint sparkled within those sapphire-emerald eyes, showing that he understood my concern – and appreciated my joke. _Did you sense anything unusual this morning?_ he asked.

_No. Why?_ I returned, puzzled by his question as well as the confused feelings I sensed accompanied the thought in his mind. Obi-Wan had woken up first this morning; I had awakened to find him still beside me, waiting for me to wake up before he left, proving his overprotectiveness – but I had sensed nothing unusual. If there had been, I knew that Obi-Wan would have already investigated it and alerted me if he thought something was amiss.

He sighed as if expecting my words. _I did have a reason for being grumpy this morning. You see, when I woke up, I turned over and found Qui-Gon watching us._

I blinked. _What?! And he didn't say anything to the Council? This is a direct violation of the Code!_

_I know. So I went and talked to him._

_Oh. . ._ Understanding flooded me as I realized why Obi-Wan had suddenly disappeared after the meeting._ So _that's_ why you disappeared after the meeting. I was wondering why you vanished._

_Yes._

A feeling of alarm trickled through me. _What did he say?_ I asked anxiously.

_Not that much._

I pulled out of his arms completely, surprising him. _Maybe this isn't a good idea_, I said nervously. _Maybe we shouldn't be – _

Obi-Wan put his hands on my shoulders. _It's all right_, he began.

_No, it isn't!_ I exclaimed, agitated and surprised that Obi-Wan had waited so long to tell me about this._ What if the Council decides to expel you? What if – _

_Kya._ Obi-Wan's firm tone stopped me in my tracks. _Kya, it is all right. I would not lie to you; you know that. Qui-Gon only wanted me to know that he approves of it._

I stared. That was the complete opposite of what I had expected a Jedi Master, and Qui-Gon is particular, to say. Especially reviewing what I knew about Qui-Gon's last reaction to Obi-Wan breaking the Code this way and falling in love. _But – he – _what_?!_

Obi-Wan smiled tenderly, drawing me back into his arms. I went along reluctantly, but put my hands on his chest, refusing to enter his embrace fully. _He said he approves of it. He will keep his silence until we decide to reveal it; and if we do, he has pledged his support._

_Oh._ I leaned against him then, feeling my fear drain away. I sighed and let my arms snake around him again, enjoying the feeling of the warmth radiating off of him – literally and figuratively. _Don't scare me like that!_ I scolded him sharply after a moment.

He laughed. _Sorry._

_No, you're not._

He grinned. _How did you – _

Just then, we both gasped and nearly fell over as menace suddenly radiated from somewhere inside the palace – a slimy, ice-cold, sticky ugliness that stained the Living Force like blood stains a clean sheet. Fear emanated seconds afterwards, and a cold, hard, satisfaction rippled through the Force before dying away.

I looked at Obi-Wan, seeing the fear I felt reflected in his eyes. _Something has gone terribly wrong._ The next minute, we were both up and out the room, running flat out for the source of the terror – and the menace.


	43. Chapter 41

Okay, now that it is midterm week, I had the idea of a midterm marathon of fanfiction for me. So, for each of the next 4-5 days of midterms, I'm going to post a new chapter. Thanks to all of my readers for sticking with me this far!

* * *

_**Chapter Forty-One**_

**32 BBY**

~ _Siri Tachi_ ~  
"I sense that something is bothering you, Padawan," my Master said abruptly, staring at me. "What's wrong now?"

I blinked innocently. "Nothing," I lied.

My Master gave me a look that told me I had not fooled her. _I was a Padawan once too, Padawan. Nice try._

_Sorry. I'll do better next time._

_Padawan!_

"I met Kya Ranor," I said.

"And?"

I stared at my Master, who stared right back impassively. "Isn't that enough to convey what's bothering? Who is she; where is she from; what is she doing; why is she able to command the Council; how?"

My Master didn't laugh at my stream of questions. Quite to the contrary – she frowned. "You are addressing the same questions the Council is chasing around, Padawan. We don't know many more of the answers than you do."

"Is she really a Jedi? All I got when I tried to read her was a blank. She feels like a void." Voids were considered very dangerous, as they were able to shield anything and everything about their presence from Force-users. _She could be concealing a dark intention._

"No, she's a Jedi," my Master said calmly. "There is no doubt about that. She knows too much about the Order to not be."

"She could be a cleverly trained clone," I suggested darkly. Take a Force-sensitive, train it for a few years, give it a lightsaber and Jedi robes and a Padawan braid, and you could pretend pretty convincingly to pass for a Jedi.

Well, at least to the public.

One of my Master's eyebrows rose. "Oh? Name a type of clone that could defeat Master Windu using his own lightsaber form against him, then."

I gaped. Master Windu was the undisputed master of Form VII, Vaapad. It was said that only Masters Yoda and Dooku could hold their own against him. "But how?" I spluttered. "She's only an apprentice!"

"An apprentice to a master of Form III," my Master corrected soberly.

"But Soresu wouldn't be enough to match the power of Vaapad," I protested. Soresu was the most defensive lightsaber form and true masters were considered invincible, but it wouldn't be able to generate enough energy to meet all of Vaapad's attacks, especially when the user was a just a mere apprentice. Besides, invincibility didn't mean that you always won. That was Soresu's biggest problem. It guaranteed survival, yes, but not victory.

"I wasn't finished," my Master said calmly. "She's also studied under Masters Drallig, Dooku, and Yoda to learn their forms. In short, she's learned almost every form under its acknowledged master, and she is very skilled in each, save Vaapad and Makashi. Those she is still working on. And it helps that her midi-chlorian count is astoundingly high, even higher than Master Yoda's."

The words made me sharply reevaluate everything I had sensed about her. The confident, graceful, flowing movements; the slender yet muscled form; the keen glance and feeling of concealed power. . . No wonder she had seemed so strange and unique. _And if she has a high midi-chlorian count, no wonder she could project just a mere blank to me._

Then I frowned as I remembered what I pledged to ask my Master during that same encounter with the Padawan who was so much more than a Padawan. "Interesting," I said vaguely to break the silence. "Are any Masters of the Council on assignment at Utapau?"

My Master frowned in return, obviously startled by the swift change in topic. "Of course not. The whole Council is _here_, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. . ." I felt a thrill of triumph. _She _was_ lying about her Master. . . So what else has she lied about? And why hasn't anyone sensed her lies?_

The thought was interrupted when the dark side suddenly splashed over us in the largest disturbance I'd ever sensed, causing both of us to gasp. I staggered into a door while my Master clutched at her seat, her knuckles turning white due to the death-grip she had upon the chair.

"That . . ." I struggled to get words out as I tried to talk about what I had sensed when the feeling had passed.

Luckily my Master seemed to understand. Even as I recovered, she was already moving to the door, her hand falling to rest on her lightsaber hilt. "It's the Queen," she said.

~ _Padmé Amidala_ ~  
I sat up suddenly, startled. I had just been woken out of a perfectly sound sleep, and I had absolutely no idea why.

Then I stiffened when a cold chuckle sounded. "You are very perceptive, Padmé Amidala. Very perceptive indeed." The voice was smooth and oily and somehow seemed to seep into my very being and make even this warm night seem cold.

"Who are you?" I demanded, closing my hand on a laser pistol under my pillow.

A shadow near the door seemed to shift. "No one you need to know," came the cold female voice. Then she gave a harsh laugh. "But I'm sure the Jedi will fully investigate your death, Your Highness."

I tensed. Then a blood red lightsaber activated, highlighting a strange woman. But I didn't wait any longer to find out more details as I remembered the last person I had seen with a red lightsaber – that tattooed creature who had attacked Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan. I threw the blanket up and in her direction, and she snarled as she was forced to cut through it. Then, leaping over the bed, I slammed my hand down on the security alert as I started firing.

The woman deflected each shot with ease. Then she made a sudden gesture, and the pistol went flying out of my hand. Before I could react, she made a fist.

I choked when a total and complete grab wrapped around my throat, making it impossible for me to breathe. My hands immediately went to my neck – but there was nothing there. Spots danced in front of my eyes, and I tried to gasp for air, but nothing happened.

Chuckling, the woman pushed her fist forward and I slammed backwards into a wall. My vision flickered, and pain filled me. But at least I could breathe again.

"Who are you?" I shouted at the woman, trying to stand.

She choked me again and brought her lightsaber right under my head. "You don't need to know, Your Highness. But take comfort in this – I'll be the last thing you ever see."

I struggled to breathe as the woman drew out a strange knife that glinted in the darkness, still holding the lightsaber under my head. Then I gasped when she raised the blade and made a painful slice from my elbow to my palm.

The cut burned.

That was all I could say. If I could breathe, I would have screamed from the agony. It felt like she had added salt and oil and set the cut aflame and then closed my skin over it, like fire was burning through my arm.

The woman now brought out a glass bottle. Some gut instinct now yelled at me to run far away from it. That bottle made every single hair on the back of my neck stand up. _That thing is evil. Whatever it is, it is _evil_._

"Stop!"

"Padmé!"

My doors burst open and two more figures charged in, the blue blades twirling around them marking them as Jedi. Both of them gestured, and the lights flashed on at the same time that the woman went stumbling backwards. Her lightsaber flew off towards the one person as she slammed into the floor and gasped.

One of them – Padawan Kenobi, I now saw – ran forward and rested his blade right next to the woman's neck. "Don't move," he warned her. "One twitch, and my lightsaber moves through your neck."

The other – Kya, I saw with relief – hurried to my side, deactivating her lightsaber as she did so. I saw now that she held the woman's lightsaber in her hand. She clipped both lightsabers onto her belt as she knelt next to me.

"Padmé, are you all right?" she asked worriedly. When she saw the cut, her eyes darkened and she hurriedly brought forth a bottle. Unlike the other one, this one gave off a sense of goodness and peace and I didn't even protest when she poured a liberal amount on the cut.

Then I gasped when the wound flared once before disappearing altogether.

"How – How did you do that?" I asked, amazed.

Kya took my hand and helped me stand. Her eyes twinkled with secrecy. "It's a Jedi trick, Your Majesty," she said formally.

Just then, four more people ran in, lightsabers activated and casting a bewildering array of green, violet, blue, and purple light that threw strange reflections all around the room. Master Jinn moved to Padawan Kenobi's side with Master Windu following. The other two Jedi shut off their lightsabers before leaving, seeing that the situation was under control.

"Your Majesty, are you all right?" Master Jinn asked, turning to me.

I nodded, taking a deep breath. _Calm down, Padmé. These are Jedi Masters. Call in some self-control, and act like the real Queen Amidala._ "Yes, but – who is she?"

Kya frowned, but not because she was displeased with me; she didn't like whoever this woman was, apparently. "Her name is Vereora. She serves Darth Sidious, a Sith Lord, but she's no Sith. Just a servant."

"Witch," Vereora hissed at her. "Your power is unnatural. It will be your end."

Kya merely raised an eyebrow. Master Windu pointed his lightsaber at her as Padawan Kenobi stood and came to stand by Kya's side, snapping off his own blade. His face was a dark mask as he glared at Vereora and placed a hand on Kya's shoulder.

"If it becomes my end, it will be because I died so that someone else could live," Kya replied finally. "Too bad if that's something you wouldn't do."

She looked at Master Windu, and something passed between them, some unspoken signal or something. Then the Jedi Master suddenly swung at Vereora . . . and closed down his blade and smacked her hard in the head. She was knocked out instantly.

"What's this?" Padawan Kenobi said suddenly, crouching down.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
"Witch," Vereora hissed, venom in her tone. "Your power is unnatural. It will be your end."

Kya merely raised an eyebrow. I heard Master Windu's lightsaber ignite as he placed it next to Vereora, so I deactivated mine and came to stand by Kya. I placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her a little closer to me, and glared at the woman. Kya was no witch, and although her powers were unnatural, at least she used them for good.

"If it becomes my end, it will be because I died so that someone else could live," Kya replied finally. "Too bad if that's something you wouldn't do."

I glanced at Kya as she finished speaking, and she gave me a gentle smile.

_It's all right_, she told me, sensing my unspoken concern. _I'm fine._

_And the Queen?_

_A little startled and probably she has some bruises, but she should be okay. I already healed her of . . . of whatever Vereora did to her._

I squeezed her shoulder gently as the last words floated across our bond. _You couldn't have predicted it. At least we reacted quickly._

She sighed and shifted. _Let go. You're going to make the Masters suspicious._

_Qui-Gon already knows._ I didn't want to let her go. I wanted to make sure she was all right. I could feel the self-reproach in her for not foreseeing this, and I wanted to get it out of her before it festered in her mind.

_Master Windu doesn't_, she pointed out.

I bit my lip, but I let her go. She did have a point there. If anyone was strict about sticking to the Jedi Code, it was Master Windu.

As Kya turned to speak to the Queen, something caught my eye. When the Queen moved back towards her bed, I got a clearer view from the lighting. A strange bottle that lay abandoned on the floor. It lay there next to a bloody knife, as if Vereora had dropped it when we had interrupted. But why would a Sith servant carry a _bottle_, of all things?

_What in the name of the Force is this?_ Crouching down, I reached out to touch it –

Only to have Kya suddenly whirl around and yank me back with a powerful Force-assisted pull.

"Don't touch that!" she snapped, the Force filling her voice with a powerful command that I could only obey. "No one go near that thing."


	44. Chapter 42

Day 2 of my midterm marathon! So, as promised, here is the next chapter, where I finally reveal why Kya made all of that fuss about that little bottle. But by the way, for all of my curious readers – it was empty.

* * *

_**Chapter Forty-Two**_

**32 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
Cold and nausea filled me the instant Obi-Wan's attention moved to that object, and I yanked him back without hesitation, employing all of my power to protect my lover. He landed beside me, startled but all right. Somehow I knew without a doubt that if he had touched that thing, he would have died.

I reached out the Force and levitated the thing, careful to keep it away from everyone. I squinted, surprised. _It's just a bottle. . . Why would Vereora risk all of this for a – _

But then, when the light hit the rotating bottle, dark designs flared out at me, detailing its use in a language I had never seen before but somehow could understand. Dark visions danced through my head, memories of a long ago past that showed thousands of people who had fallen victim to this . . . and the evil handful that knew how to use it.

Cold filled me again. _This is an ancient object. Before the time of even the Jedi and the Sith._ I didn't know how I knew that or even if it was possible, but . . . I trusted the gut instinct that was telling me this.

I swallowed hard as the last instructions came to light. They talked about how blood was needed for the sacrifice – innocent blood.

I glanced at Padmé, suddenly making the connection. _She has the blood._ Somehow I just knew that she was a ready target for this. She fit all the qualifications here – strong but weak, powerful yet powerless, wise and naive.

I smashed the bottle instantly on the floor, and immediately after it hit the floor it shattered into black sand that to my senses smelled like burnt food tainted with the dark side. Without it, the ritual would take longer and Padmé would be safe . . . for now.

My action startled everyone in the room, as well as the result. Usually, when bottles were smashed, they shattered into fragments and shards . . . not sand. It was a clear indication of how unnatural the bottle was.

Obi-Wan recovered first. I felt him reach out and take hold of my hand gently, and the gentle warmth of the Force flowed through me, relaxing my muscles and brushing away the cold and the nausea. I shot him a grateful glance.

Master Windu strode over, his face a mask of furious curiosity. "What was that about?" he demanded, pointing towards the ruined bottle.

I met his gaze evenly. "I can no longer wait," I told him. "Tomorrow I'll meet with the Council and tell them everything. I had planned to break it more gently – but I no longer have that option. The Sith are moving against me, and they plan to force my hand. Can you tell the Council that I will meet with them tomorrow morning, right after breakfast?"

Master Windu started.

"Are you sure about this, apprentice?" Master Jinn asked, coming up beside the speechless Korun Master.

I nodded. "I have no choice. Not if I plan to do what must be done." Then I turned towards Queen Amidala. "Your Majesty, I speak to you as a Jedi now. I advise you not to leave the palace tomorrow under any circumstances."

She blinked, and surprise emanated from her as she absorbed by words. "Why? I don't plan to, but I'd like to know why."

I gestured towards the unconscious Vereora. "She is but one reason, Your Majesty. I hope she is a convincing one."

Then I bowed to her and strode away. As I walked back to my quarters, I silently told whoever my guide was, _Well, now would be a great time to appear. Because tomorrow I'm going to tell the Jedi Council who Darth Sidious is, and I would like – no, I think I _need_ your advice on this._

Thankfully, as soon as I sealed my quarters behind me, activating a lock and a privacy light that would dissuade all but the most determined, I felt a presence. Then a voice spoke. "So you have finally realized that things are more dangerous than you thought?"

I turned to face my guide, who was still veiled in shadow. "How did that bottle get here?" I demanded, knowing that she would know what I was talking about. "How? It's older than the Jedi and the Sith!"

I felt my guide nod grimly. "It is. It is part of an ancient ritual that is both light and dark. Walkers like you used it sometimes, for their own protection and survival. But it had also been used by those opposite you, because it has the potential to wreak unimaginable havoc."

"You didn't answer my question."

"Do I need to?"

"I would like you to."

My guide sighed. "Very well. I can give you this warning, then – more is happening here than just a fight between the Sith and the Jedi."

I caught my breath as I understood the implications. "You mean . . . You think another Walker is behind this?"

"Yes and no."

"Well, thanks for being so clear," I said sarcastically.

"Can you not understand?" my guide demanded anxiously. "Someone is manipulating the Sith for their own ends. They mean to not only seize control of Anakin Skywalker, but also you!"

I gasped, but my guide ignored me and continued, the voice becoming ruthlessly blunt.

"Don't you realize how valuable you are right now? You are the only true Walker still alive right now! Your power is the power that can cause havoc that will throw the Force out of balance forever, no matter what Anakin Skywalker does!"

"So . . . _wait_," I said suddenly. "You said 'only true Walker'. What other kind of Walker is there?"

"What other kind of Jedi are there, besides the true Jedi you know?" my guide returned.

My eyes grew wide and my breath stopped. _The only other kind of Jedi besides the true Jedi I know are fallen Jedi. . ._

"A Walker who has fallen is behind this?" I breathed. _No, no! I'm just an apprentice! I can't stand my ground against a fully trained Walker, and one who has fallen to top it off!_

My guide only said, "You are more powerful than you know, Kya Ranor." Then the figure stood and started disappearing. When the voice spoke again, it no longer sounded like someone was speaking . . . because I heard the voice in my head.

_I can no longer guide you now that a confrontation is coming swiftly. The ancient laws are very clear about this. You must stand on your own now. But beware. You face forces as old as the universe._

"How can I face them? I don't know anything about being a Walker!" I shouted.

_You do. You are a daughter of the Force, just as the Walkers before you. Let them – let the Force – guide you._

"What do you mean?" I asked in desperation.

This time, there was no answer, no voice, no presence in my head. My guide's presence had vanished completely, like a puff of smoke that suddenly no longer exists.

I sagged down against the wall, burying my face in my knees. _I've never felt so alone._ Now I was not only approaching a "direct confrontation", but I also had no guide to offer me wisdom. Granted, sometimes her wisdom hadn't been too helpful, but . . . knowing that there was someone to turn to . . . that had helped.

I started when someone placed their arm around me and glanced up to see Obi-Wan there. His blue-green eyes were filled with concern and worry.

I slowly opened our bond again, knowing that he was worried, and I felt him inhale sharply as he felt the despair in my emotions, the feeling of being alone. His arms tightened around me as he drew me against his chest.

I leaned against him, not bothering to resist – or to hide the tears that were slowly slipping down my face.

"You're not alone, Kya," he whispered, one of his hands brushing across my face to push away the tears. _You're not alone_, he repeated. _I won't let you go._

I tried to pull away, but he was stronger than me and held me close. _You should. There will come a day when we lose each other._

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I was shocked when I heard Kya's thought and sensed the despairing thoughts in her. I was also very disturbed. What had made my love so depressed, so sad?

Kya was usually so strong and independent. I had felt fear for her when she charged into danger, but I had never doubted that she could handle it. My fear had been born of my own feelings; I simply wanted to protect her.

_Why so morbid?_ I demanded. I could hear the anger in my question, but I couldn't control it – I was angry, furious at whoever had hurt Kya so much. _We have each other, we have the bond, we have our love. Isn't that enough?_

More tears spilled down Kya's face. _But I'm so scared. . . I'm so scared. . ._ Her voice was so small and vulnerable that my heart twisted painfully in my chest.

It made me want to seize her and pull her against me and wrap her in my arms and shield her from anything, everything. I wanted to take away her pain, her sorrow, her anger – everything that hurt her, everything that scared her, everything that . . . that made her . . . like this.

_Scared about what?_

_That I'm going to lose you._

I stiffened when I heard her words. Kya had never expressed such doubts or fears before. Our fears had mainly revolved around what would happen if the Jedi Council found out and expelled us. Never had we discussed the fear we both felt that we might lose each other.

For that fear belonged to the dark side.

_Something has definitely hurt her_, I thought angrily to myself. But I carefully shielded the thought; in her state, Kya might misunderstand the anger and become scared of rejection. I didn't want to accidentally push her away from me.

I sighed and looked straight at Kya, searching her wounded sapphire eyes. The pain I saw there swirling in her eyes hurt me just as much as her words. _Then I will be part of the Force._

She looked away. _Now you sound like Yoda._

I frowned. That was not the response that most Jedi would give, and certainly not the one I had expected. Cupped her chin, I forced her to look at me again. _I will never leave you, Kya. I promise you that._ When she didn't respond, I continued softly,_ I love you._

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
_I will never leave you, Kya. I promise you that. I love you._

I could sense the conviction and the power behind his promise. But that wasn't what convinced me. It was the love I could sense in him, the love that had made him find me and was now making him deal with me, a whiny, depressed girl.

The thought snapped me out my depressed thoughts. Obi-Wan shouldn't need to do this. I was a Jedi, and a Walker. I shouldn't need him to talk me out of my apathy.

I sighed and stood as he did, wrapping my arms around his neck and feeling him draw me close. _I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snapped at you like that._

_You're tired. Let's get to bed, all right?_ I felt him smile as he stroked my hair and moved towards the bed. _Everyone gets scared once in a while_, he continued me gently. _You scare me all the time._

I laughed self-consciously as I slipped out of cloak and outer tunic. Leaning down, I removed my boots and my belt, placing the former next to the bed and the latter on top of my cloak and outer tunic. I didn't change further; my clothes were warm and comfortable as they were now. Slipping under the covers, I went up on one elbow to continue the conversation. _Sorry._

He shrugged in reply, somehow transforming the movement into pulling his whole tunic off his head. I rolled my eyes, which I knew he sensed. _What, can't do it the slow way?_

_No. That takes too long._

He tossed his tunic onto his cloak. Then he sat on the bed and removed his belt and boots as I had, but unlike me, he just sort of haphazardly tossed them away, using the Force to put the belt at least within several feet of his clothes. Finally he turned back to me and joined me under the covers.

_Don't be_, he said, continuing the earlier conversation._ Don't be sorry. It was time that we acknowledged this anyway, before something happened and we acknowledged it the hard way._

I pulled back and looked at him, confused. _What do you mean?_

He put his hand on my neck, his thumb stroking my cheek. _You needed to know that I loved you and feared that I might lose you, and I needed to know that you loved me and feared that you might lose me._

I rolled my eyes again. _I've had quite enough to philosophy, Obi-Wan. No more, _please_._

_Then here's one more bit. Love means never having to say you're sorry._

I groaned. My brain now hurt even _more_ from this new piece of philosophy. And it concerned love too! _Obi-Wan, please. . ._

Obi-Wan chuckled warmly, moving his hand from my neck. Draping his arm around my waist, he drew me closer, stroking my hair lovingly. _You're only human, my love. No one can expect you to be perfect. Especially not me._

I considered it for a moment, turning over what my guide had said about me in my mind. I wasn't just human. I was a Jedi – and a Walker.

I wondered if I should tell Obi-Wan. I didn't hesitate for fear of rejection or disbelief; the bond between us meant that we would always accept each other, and he would sense the truth in my thoughts. I hesitated because I wasn't sure if telling him would put him in danger.

_Especially if a fallen Walker is behind this._ I shielded my thoughts carefully as I tucked my head under his neck, relishing the feeling of being held, being protected. _Another enemy might choose to strike out at Obi-Wan if they realize he knows. . . But on the other hand, because he's connected to me like this, they might strike out at him anyways to hurt me. . ._

After a long moment, I decided to keep quiet. I didn't want to ruin this moment right now – this moment where everything was quiet and peaceful and full of love. I had the man I loved, the Jedi I admired, the person who was my soulmate next to me, connected to me, holding me.

For now – despite everything that had happened and everything that my guide foretold would happen – for now, this was enough.

I closed my eyes and snuggled closer to Obi-Wan. _I love you too, Obi-Wan._


	45. Chapter 43

Day 3 of my midterm marathon! Today things start to fall in place so that the last two or three scenes in the trailer, and you will see what I mean. And before Crazytenor42 whacks me over the head for what happens at the end of this chapter, I am totally saying that this is karma – and partially because it's my habit.

* * *

_**Chapter Forty-Three**_

**32 BBY**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
When we entered, the steely looks from the Councilors told me at once that they knew everything about last night. The tension in the air was so thick I could almost taste it – and that was saying something, considering that was the Jedi Council we were talking about.

I held back a sigh. I didn't know exactly why Kya had destroyed the bottle, but I trusted her and knew her well enough to know that she wouldn't have done it without a very good reason, even if she hadn't told us the reason yet.

I just hoped she could tell the Council that reason.

"What in blazes happened last night, Padawan Ranor?" Master Gallia demanded the second we stopped. "I thought you were a controlled person, but what you did last night – "

" – was completely necessary," Kya interrupted, her sapphire eyes flashing. "Unless you wanted to wake up with a dead Queen on your hands and an enormous rip in the Force."

"Now what are you talking about?" Master Ki-Adi-Mundi asked wearily.

Kya took a deep breath. "That bottle is part of an ancient ritual, dating back to before the birth of the Jedi and the Sith Orders. It involves killing an innocent person and taking their blood in order to forcibly rip a doorway into another universe. The ritual calls for someone who is 'strong but weak, powerful yet powerless, wise and naive'. Queen Amidala fits all of that."

_Um . . . okay. . ._ I gave another try at trying to wrap my brain around the phrases and failed. _How in the name of the Force do you find someone who fits those?_

_A lot of searching and trial and error and experimentation_, came Kya's dry answer.

I hid a smile at her words. However, since the Masters were not privy to our little side conversation, they were neither amused nor accepting.

"She does?" Master Windu asked. "All of those qualifications are completely contradicting."

Kya's lips twitched into a faint smile. "They are supposed to be. That way, the ritual is that much harder to do. Unfortunately, it also means that the most tenacious, the ones who actually find the answer, usually are the most powerful and the hardest to stop."

"Like the Sith Master?" I asked, frowning.

Kya bit her lip. "I hope not. If his hands, this information would be even more dangerous than it already is."

She sighed when all three Masters glared at her. "Fine. I didn't want to tell you. . . This information is dangerous. But if you insist. . . You already know that I come from another universe, another version, if you will, of the same story, the same destiny playing out in a universe. What you don't know is that there are hundreds, thousands of other universes besides our two."

I gaped at her. _Thousands? _Thousands_ of universes playing out the same story? How – How is that possible?_

~ _Darth Sidious_ ~  
A dark, menacing presence suddenly touched my mind, sweeping through and establishing complete control before I could even flinch. The presence was like a drop of oil in water, a blot of blood on a piece of paper, a storm cloud on a sunny, clear day. It spoiled the water, ruined the paper, blackened the sky. It was dark, foul, evil, menacing, cunning, potent.

And it was the one who had shown me the way.

I spoke first. "My lord."

A voice hissed out of the center of the dark storm, cool, smooth, oily. _What do you have to report, Darth Sidious?_

"The plan is going as you planned. Everything is falling into place, as you foresaw."

The storm condensed, like someone sensing something and then leaning forward to stare directly into your eyes. I tried not to flinch as a dark probe swept through my thoughts. There was no way I could have blocked it, anyway, but it sometimes bothered me how easily the probes pierced my shields.

_Something troubles you._ The voice was short and unpleasant now. _What minor thing bothers you, mortal?_

I suppressed a flicker of anger at being degraded such. "Do I not serve you well? Is that not enough, my lord?"

A high, cold, cackling laugh followed my words. The storm relaxed. _You seek approval, mortal, and that is normal for you, you who live such limited lives and wield such petty powers. But what is it that troubles you?_

I paused, wondering if I should report it. Perhaps the complication was already foreseen.

The storm darkened even more, if that was possible when I paused. _Tell me!_ the voice roared, clamping around my mind so that I was trapped in the trance. I winced. It was like shutters had gone down over all the windows and locks had clicked shut over every door. I was trapped here now, until the hold was released.

"An unforeseen complication has arisen," I said finally.

_Nothing escapes my senses._

"Of course." I paused again to collect my thoughts before speaking. "The bond has formed."

I felt a tinge of surprise that was quickly hidden. _Already? That was fast for her to choose_, the voice mused. _But what of her mate?_

"Her mate is a Jedi. Obi-Wan Kenobi."

The voice hissed in anger. _A _Jedi_?! Impossible! That is against the laws! That is against everything!_

"I report nothing but the truth."

The storm raged for a moment – dark and thick and angry – before condensing again as calm regained control. _Has the bond been completed?_ The voice sounded like one who is trying to control oneself, but with difficulty.

I wasn't surprised. After the deal had been struck, information had been exchanged between us. I knew what the bond meant for Ranor, and for her newfound mate.

"Yes. Without a doubt. I have tried thrice to shatter the shields since I first sensed it, but Kenobi blocks me at every turn."

_No doubt he would._ The voice was silent for a second. _Stop trying, Darth Sidious. Have you forgotten everything I told you? There is an actual reason the bond exists, you know, and it is meant to give the Walkers the advantage. No. You cannot harm her any longer now that the bond is completed between them._

"I've noticed. Shall I continue?"

_You must. Now that we have forced her hand, she means to force ours. She will reveal your identity today. There is no doubt of that. Continue._

I lowered my head, even though the movement wouldn't been seen. "As you wish." As I spoke, I felt the presence begin to shrink and retreat, but reluctantly. I winced as the probes that had been sent through my mind were yanked brutally out, like poisoned spines that were being pulled slowly from the hole they'd punched in an arm or leg. Actually, in this case, in my brain, but I wasn't going to dwell on it.

But before I could take a single step towards the door, the presence returned full force, immobilizing me with a single grab. _Wait, Darth Sidious._

"Yes?"

_The bond will be used to our advantage. This time, perform the ritual on . . . on her mate. Rip Kenobi away from her, and follow him. Make sure she does not. And then drive them all into the Force._

I raised an eyebrow. I had to admit, it was actually a good idea. This would force Ranor to open a gateway on her own, which would weaken her further on top of silencing the bond between her and Kenobi. And the weaker she was, the more impulsive she would be, and the more troubles she would land in. That would lead to a landslide victory that would drop her, as planned, right before –

_Are you listening or daydreaming?_ the voice thundered.

I winced. "Going, my lord. Good day."

The voice snorted before retreating again. I waited a few moments. This time, when it didn't return, I sighed in relief. Dealing with these . . . creatures. . . It was unpleasant, to say the least, but necessary. There was no way I could have fought Ranor on my own.

Well, I could fight her. But there was no way I could have won.

As I left the chamber, I let a triumphant smirk cross my face. _All of those probes sent, and not a single one revealed my plans. He is getting weak. I shall take his place easily._

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I felt a small smile cross my face when shock rippled through the Force. And not just in a small amount either. Every single person standing here was feeling shock, save me.

I guess it _was _a little startling, to find out that you were just a minor player in a minor little bubble in a gigantic chessboard that encompassed every single variation of your life story, from past to present to future.

I felt a moment of self-pity. _Pity I can't ever feel that way._ To know that there were others like me, who saw things the way I did, who understand my background, my thoughts, my decisions, my personality – who understood _me_, at the core foundation of who I was.

But the feeling vanished quickly. My love understood me without being me. And having a thousand other copies of me. . . Maybe that wasn't such a good thing. It made me feel a little high, a little giddy, to realize that of all the universes spinning around, I was unique, special, set apart. No one was like me at all.

"_Hundreds_ of universes?" Master Gallia echoed, a stunned look on her face.

I shrugged as I returned my mind to the conversation at hand. "I believe so. I don't know for certain. There may be more than that. I don't think any of my kind has actually ever tried to check. We were a little busy."

Master Jinn frowned, turning to me. "Your kind?" he repeated.

"Yes."

"What do you mean by that?" he prompted after a moment of silence.

"I may have been raised and trained a Jedi, Master Jinn, but I was a born a Walker. That is my heritage and my duty." I felt my tone grow solemn and ancient and powerful, felt the power of the others of my kind from days long gone by suffuse me. I knew that the Jedi were now glimpsing who I truly was – not just a person, not just an apprentice, not just even a Jedi.

No. I was all and none of those things.

I was Kya Ranor.

I was a Walker.

I cut it short. I needed to do some explaining, not some showing off.

"In any case, you need to know who the Sith Master is," I said quickly, hiding the power I wielded behind potent shields again. The words shocked the Masters out of their trance, and I felt the tension return.

"The Sith Master is Chancellor Palpatine."

There was moment of silence – and then came the explosion.

~ _Padmé Amidala_ ~  
"Your Majesty."

I turned just in time see Chancellor Palpatine come to a stop next to me and offer a slight bow. I inclined my head in return, glad to be free of a restricting headpiece that would have tumbled over at that movement, as I boarded the waiting vehicle.

"Chancellor."

"I understand that you are going out to comfort the families of those who lost their lives," he said neutrally.

"Yes." It wasn't exactly tradition for the ruler to do so, but I felt it should be and so I was doing it. The people needed to know that I knew and understood about the sacrifices they had made. I needed to honor it in a personal manner than just a parade.

So, I was making a simple trip to each family that had lost a member. I needed to let the people know that I still remembered my own ties to Naboo, conveying a message that even and perhaps especially now that I was Queen, I kept my ties to the people and remembered that I was still one of them.

Therefore, I had put away the more elaborate costumes in favor of a more practical yet elegant dress of flowing aquamarine, adorned with glistening silver and dotted with glittering diamonds. A light blue tiara of pearls and sapphires, cunningly wrought and wonderfully light, graced my head.

"May I come with you?"

"Of course, Chancellor."

We rode a few minutes in silence. It was kind of awkward, to say the least. I mean, the last time I had seen Palpatine, he had been a Senator and I his Queen, and I had blatantly ignored not only his nomination, but also crossed against his advice and returned to Naboo.

Then Palpatine broke the silence. "I understand that there was some sort of . . . incident last night, Your Majesty. Were you injured?"

I glanced sharply at him. His eyes betrayed nothing but concern, but I felt uneasy. _Even and especially now that he is the Chancellor, how did he hear about this?_

I answered about a moment. "No one was hurt, Chancellor. Thankfully, the Jedi interceded before any harm was done."

He nodded slowly. "Thank the Jedi," he repeated softly.

The driver then stopped and turned to face us. "We're here, Your Majesty, Chancellor. Do you want me to wait for you?" He spoke with a coarse, greasy accent that made the hair on the back of my neck stand out. _He sounds like a lowlife, a mercenary for hire._

I suddenly realized that no security guards – for either me or the Chancellor – had accompanied us.

Palpatine was already stepping out; apparently he either hadn't noticed the lack of security or simply wasn't perturbed by it. "Come, Your Majesty. Let us not delay. We have many people to meet today."

I followed. I knew self-defense. I wasn't that far from the palace. And I was with the Chancellor. No one would dare harm us.

The house was dark and smelled musty. I heard the squeaks of rats and other small critters as the light from the open door disturbed them and sent them running away. The rug was filthy.

I wrinkled my nose. _What a house to live in!_ And in the capital of Naboo, of all places! This looked like something from the slums of the slums of Tatooine.

My unease grew, but I pushed it aside. _I owe my people this._ I had barely taken but ten steps into the house after making that decision before the door suddenly slammed shut. I whirled around as shutters clamped down over the windows and laser walls rose up against the walls.

_A trap!_ I cursed under my breath. "Chancellor?" I called. "Are you all right?"

A blood red lightsaber ignited, illuminating a dark figure in a corner that halfway across the room. _That can't be the Chancellor; he can't have moved that quickly and that silently. . ._

But then the figure moved closer, and I realized with horror that it _was_ Palpatine. Only . . . he was different. An evil, conniving grin was on his face, an expression that was somehow more terrifying that the face of that tattooed creature Padawan Kenobi and Master Jinn and Kya had faced.

I backed away. "You're a Sith?" _No, no, no!_ This couldn't be happening! This just . . . This just couldn't be happening!

The grin grew bigger. "Of course, Your Majesty." He spoke the title with irony, as if he didn't think much of it.

"Who are you?" I shouted.

"My real name is Darth Sidious, Lord of the Sith."

"You're no Lord of anything!" I exclaimed.

"Not yet," he said agreeably. Then a fierce light lit his eyes, startling me so much that I stepped back again. "But soon I will be. Soon I will be not only master of this galaxy, but all galaxies. I will the master of every universe that exists!"

"You're mad," I whispered.

"Mad?" he roared. "Mad? Mad, am I?" His hand came whistling down through the air, and I screamed as pain erupted all around me.


	46. Chapter 44

Day 4 of my midterm marathon! More things are set up for the coming confrontation in this chapter, and also included in the argument as Kya fights to make the Jedi Council accept that Sidious is the Sith Master.

* * *

_**Chapter Forty-Four**_

**32 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
"_Palpatine_? But – But he's the Chancellor!" Master Ki-Adi-Mundi spluttered.

I raised an eyebrow at him, completely tempted to roll my eyes at the Council. But I tamped down the impulse. I had, after all, had a similar response after I had found out the truth not too long ago.

"And?" I replied. "Does one have to be a bad guy on the outside to be a bad guy on the inside?"

"But he came with us to Naboo!" Master Gallia protested. Her blue eyes were wide with surprise, but I could see the glint of steel in them; she still didn't trust me. "If he was the Sith, we would have sensed it!"

"Are you so certain?" I asked, fixing her with a steady gaze. "With all due respect, Master Gallia, my Council thought the same thing . . . until, of course, we found out the hard way. And that's when Order 66 was executed."

"Order 66?" Master Jinn questioned, frowning.

I turned to him. He, at least, hadn't protested. He was surprised, but willing to accept the truth. _Thank the stars that he is a follower of the Living Force_, I thought silently.

"You already know that Jedi led clone units," I said. "We had special orders for certain situations. One such order was Order 66. It was an executive order, to be issued by Chancellor Palpatine and by him alone. It . . . It told the clones that the Jedi had rebelled about the Chancellor, and that all Jedi were to be branded traitors to the Re – sorry, the _Empire_, and that every single Jedi was to be executed immediately, no matter the cost."

By the time I had finished talking, I had closed my eyes. I just couldn't look the Jedi Council in the face now. The images of Order 66 were flashing before me and . . . I just couldn't do it. _Ki-Adi-Mundi. Ayala Secura. Plo Koon. Stass Allie._ And then the last, worst image of all – the Jedi Temple, burning, smoking, filled with the bodies of my friends, my teachers, _my family_.

Around me, Masters visibly started. Master Jinn took a step back, horror surrounding him. Master Windu half stood, his eyes wide but his face tight and determined. Master Yoda's aura crumpled into sadness. Obi-Wan's emotions flashed through our bond like a series of optical illusions, but soon settled on two main ones – concern and sadness.

_Kya? Are you all right?_

I took a deep breath, calming myself and banishing the images from my mind. The last thing I needed was for one of the Masters to get past my shields and see their own death. _I'm fine._

I sensed him frown. _Yeah, right._

I started at the sad sarcasm in his voice. It was strange combination of exasperation, sarcasm, and actual concern.

_If you're fine, then the Council's perfectly at peace with this new announcement._ Then, in a softer voice, he said, _You can't lie to me anymore, remember?_

I smiled. Trying to lie the one I was connected to, who was my soulmate, _was_ a rather stupid endeavor. _Thanks for that._

When I opened my eyes, Master Windu had resumed his seat, but they were urgently discussing what was to be done. Some argued that it had to be taken to the Senate. Others urged that we arrest Palpatine now.

I glanced at Obi-Wan. _Are you kidding? They're _still_ arguing?_

He shrugged helplessly, but I saw the amused glint in his eyes as he reached for and squeezed my hand gently. _This is the Jedi Council, my love. What did you expect?_

I sighed. _Something more . . . I don't know . . . _more_?_

His mental laugh echoed along our bond as he dropped my hand and shifted away from me again. We couldn't be too obvious in front of the Jedi Council. _Because that's so very specific_, he said, a mental snicker accompanying that thought.

_I know, I know. Leave me alone_, I grumbled.

_I'm not letting you forget this_, he said teasingly. His blue-green eyes were glinting again with that mischievous spark that at once attracted and annoyed me.

_Obi-Wan. . . _

_Fine, fine, fine. I promise not to tease you –_

_Thank you._

– _too much_, he finished. _And not in public._

I glared at him. Apparently, I'd spoken too soon. That, or Obi-Wan had sensed my comment and decided to tease me a bit more. _Obi-Wan!_ I growled.

_Yes, my love?_

Fortunately, Master Jinn finally interrupted the Council discussion – and ours.

"Wait a moment!" he said sharply, starting everyone into silence. "There is one thing more we have yet to know before we go charging off." He turned to me. "Padawan Ranor, what exactly is Palpatine . . . Sidious capable of?"

I sighed as I recalled the images that my guide had shown me. "A lot. He can use Force-lightning, which can be deflected with a lightsaber or your hands – if you know how. His lightsaber skills are extraordinary."

"He can't be that good," Master Ki-Adi-Mundi protested. "He hasn't had any practice in the last . . . well, in a lot of time."

I glared. He was really starting to tick me off. "That is arrogance, Master Ki-Adi-Mundi, and it was that arrogance that cost the lives of every single Jedi in the galaxy save the less than hundred who escaped and are now being hunted down and slaughtered one by one. Darth Sidious is one of the best duelists in the universe right now. He held his own against four of the swordsmasters on this very Council, and _he killed them all_."

I paused for a moment and tried to work the anger out of my tone. They already saw me as nutty enough; I didn't need to add to it. "Only two members of the Council are still alive now that Order 66 has been announced," I concluded. "Master Yoda . . . and Master Kenobi."

Obi-Wan's eyes widened and he stepped back, stunned. "What?" he breathed.

I smiled gently at my lover. _Yes, you are a member of the Jedi Council, Obi-Wan. And you deserved and deserve it. One day, perhaps, you shall earn the honor here._

I sighed then, remembering the images of the duels the two had fought. "Master Yoda just tried to kill Sidious. And he has failed. He isn't dead, but now any surviving Jedi must go into hiding. We have no choice."

Shock rippled through the Council, and this time doubt was mixed in with it. I could well understand the thoughts going through everyone's head now. Master Yoda was considered the wisest and best of the Jedi – if he, the Grand Master of the Jedi Order – couldn't do it, then how did the rest of us stand the slightest chance?

_And there's only more bad news._ "And this Sidious may be even more powerful than the one from my home," I revealed finally and unhappily. "To be honest, I don't know how to confront him any more than you do. My powers are great, but I am untrained."

Master Jinn eyed me. "You have been an apprentice for over four years. You are not untrained, apprentice."

"Yes, I am." I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. "Last night things changed. At first I thought that we faced a Sith, just a normal Sith. But then I found out that Sidious is not alone. He faces us with a fallen Walker behind him."

"A what?" Obi-Wan breathed.

I turned to my lover and saw fear in his blue-green eyes – not fear for himself, but for me. He didn't know what Walkers were or what we could do, but I knew that as my soulmate, he was feeling the side effects of the Force urging him to defend me.

Funnily enough, I didn't know how I knew that, though.

"Sith are fallen Jedi. I think that should explain it."

"It most certainly does not!" Master Gallia exclaimed. "What _are_ Walkers in the first place?"

I mulled it over for a moment before I answered. "Walkers are Force-users who keep the peace, just like Jedi, but unlike you, we . . . well, we're different. Unique. I told you that I am a Walker. That is why I don't show up in the Archives. Walkers exist in – at the most – two versions of the universe, two planes of existence at the same time. No more than that. Whereas you – and everyone else – you exist in every single version of the universe."

I gave them a moment to digest that before I said gently, "That is why, Masters, I seem so powerful. Your power is spread among the various different . . . versions of you, which means your power, your connection to the Force – it's watered down _severely_. Walkers only exist in one or two versions at once, so all of our power in only divided into one or two and obviously we seem a lot more powerful."

"You say 'we'. What other Walkers are there?" Master Jinn asked, his dark blue eyes fixed on my face with intensity and curiosity.

I sighed as I framed the answer in my mind, feeling a sadness that wasn't mine envelop me as I did so. I knew what it was, though. It was the sadness for all of my brethren, my fellow Walkers, who had died.

"The Walkers existed as the keepers of the peace before the Jedi and Sith Orders truly began. Later on, we began dying out along with our mortal enemies. It was then decided that the keeping of the peace, the fighting over balance be handed over to mortals – the Jedi and the Sith. The last Jedi Walker was died at the conclusion of the Great Sith Wars, but she was not the last Walker."

"Who was, then?" Master Windu questioned.

"Well, he was trained a Jedi . . . but . . ." I frowned, calling on the Force instinctively. I remembered my guide's words: _You are a daughter of the Force, just as the Walkers before you. Let them – let the Force – guide you._

I closed my eyes and just . . . let go. Just like my Master had always lectured me to do. _Rest in the Living Force, Padawan. Don't think. Don't feel. Do._

And the next thing I knew, words were coming out of me. They were not my words, per se, but . . . but they sounded right.

It was the past Walkers, the Force, now that spoke through me.

"But when he was tested, he fell to the dark side and became one of the Exiled. Furious, he smashed his way through several gateways before being contained. He spent many generations there, brooding, planning. He now plans to find his revenge through manipulating Sidious to destroy not only the Jedi Order, but to fulfill the ultimate conquest."

"What do you mean?" Master Jinn asked sharply.

His voice, sharp and authoritative, snapped me out of the trance. I shook my head, clearing the stars and the outside influence out of it, and was thankful that the answer to his question still lingered in my mind.

"The ultimate conquest of the Sith is to control the entire galaxy, wipe out the Jedi, and form an army of Force-users under their control," I said. "So the ultimate conquest of a fallen Walker is basically the same, only different. It is to control not just this universe, but all universes; to contain all the spirits of the past Walkers in a mind bomb they cannot escape; and to recruit every new Walker as their slave."

"That's impossible," Master Gallia breathed.

I laughed harshly. "Is it? I tell you that it is not. Now do you understand why the Sith Master, why Chancellor Palpatine was so interested in me?" I turned away from everyone, even Obi-Wan, as I spoke, facing the door.

"To control every universe would require a sacrifice – a sacrifice of utmost power. At first I thought he would target the Chosen One. I didn't realize . . . I'm the last Walker left. I'm the most powerful Force-user in existence."

I heard Obi-Wan inhale sharply, fear flashing through him. "You're the sacrifice," he realized. He stepped towards me. "He wants you."

I didn't turn around. I couldn't look my lover in the eye and tell him that I was destined to die. "Yes. I'm the one he wants. He knows that I know that if he managed to get ahold of me and sacrifice me, there would be nothing that could stop him."

Now I turned around. "Not even the Chosen One could stop him," I said quietly.

I saw hope fade from some of the Masters' faces as belief finally spread over others. I could feel the crushing weight of what must be done as the Masters finally realized the magnitude of the threat the Jedi faced.

I closed my eyes, steeling myself for what must be done. "None of you can deal with him; you're not strong enough. All that will happen is that you will die, and he will grow stronger." I opened my eyes and looked straight at Master Yoda. "I need to face him – alone."

"No!" Obi-Wan said, horror crossing his face as he understood what I intended to do. He strode forward, ignoring the shocked looks the Masters gave him. His eyes were desperate as he looked at me. "You can't give yourself up to him! You said yourself that you're untrained, that you're not powerful enough, that – "

I put a finger on his lips, stopping him from speaking. I knew the Council was watching, but right now I didn't care. This could possibly be the last time I – we would ever see each other.

"Obi-Wan," I said softly. "Obi-Wan, this is the only way. It's my destiny."

"I can't let you do this!" he protested weakly as he grabbed my shoulders.

I shifted forward and felt his hands slide around my back. I put my hands on his chest and looked straight up into his blue-green eyes that shone with his emotions – fear, determination, love, horror. A raging storm that I was part of, that I was the cause of.

"I have to," I whispered. "I can't stand here any longer and let him continue."

"But – "

"If I wait, you're the next target," I interrupted. "I won't let it go to that. I can't stand here and not do anything and know that the next thing he'll do is hurt you."

His hand came up to rest on my neck, his grip tight yet unsteady. "He'll kill you. You're not strong enough to stop him."

Obi-Wan's words were frightening, but I knew that he wasn't saying them to scare me or even stop me. He was strong in the Unifying Force; things like this came to him as easily as breathing. Right now, the Unifying Force was speaking through him.

I tried to calm myself after listening to my lover's prophecy – one that I knew as well as he did. The thought didn't calm me, though. _How can I be calm now, when I am ripping the heart of the one I love into shreds?_

"The Unifying Force speaks through you, Obi-Wan, but . . . but the Living Force speaks through me. I _need_ to do this."

Obi-Wan tried to shake his head, tried to deny it. But he had spoken the truth, as had I. We couldn't avoid it, he and I. We were the star-crossed lovers, the ones fated to always change the world and win over the people – but only by losing each other.

So I leaned forward and kissed him, just as he had done to me the first time that night, the time the bond had been completed, the time we had finally acknowledged that we loved each other. I put all of my love and all of my regret into it, knowing that this . . . most likely . . . would be the last time . . . yes, the last time I'd ever see him alive again.

He kissed me with just as much passion and sadness, but his sadness was stronger than mine. There was no doubt in my mind that I would die. But . . . But he would have to continue living – without me.

The moment just seemed to stretch on and on and on, like time itself had stopped or was going so slow that half a second was an eternity. It was just the two of us. Like the very first time, all I felt or sensed was Obi-Wan – the one I loved.

After what seemed like forever, the moment ended. I pulled back from him, seeing anguish fill his blue-green eyes and feeling tears well up in mine. "I'm sorry," was all I could say. Then I backed away from him slowly before turning and running out of the chamber, with each step going faster and farther.

_I'm so, so sorry, Obi-Wan, my love. I hope that one day . . . that one day you will understand._

I only took the time to make sure he got the message – the last message I would ever send – before I sealed the bond and shut him out completely. A shudder ran through me as I lost connection with my lover's warm and steady presence and as a result I nearly stumbled. After sensing him through the bond for so long, it felt like I was tearing my heart to seal the bond.

Then I straightened and inhaled deeply, swiping away the tears and shoving my feelings deep down. I had a duty. I had a destiny. And I needed to fulfill it.

No matter what the cost.


	47. Chapter 45

Day 5 and thus the final day of my midterm marathon! This is the last chapter where things are falling in place, and it is the beginning of the confrontation between Sidious and Kya. Big thanks to Crazytenor42 for saving my butt, so I'm making this a double update.

* * *

**_Chapter Forty-Five_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Darth Sidious_ ~  
I slammed Amidala into the wall again with all the power I could muster. She slid down weakly, crumpling on the floor.

I smiled with satisfaction. _She is out. At last, the time for victory begins._ I had been careful not to shed a single drop of blood as I had pushed her into unconsciousness; to do that would spoil her as a sacrifice.

Well, actually, as a lure, but what was the point of quibbling over such a fine point? I couldn't very well use Kenobi's blood, although I was dying to.

I drew two identical daggers from an inner pocket of my robes. They glinted darkly in the sun, seeming to absorb whatever sunlight that managed to reach. Shadows hung heavily around them, as if the daggers drew darkness to them by merely existing.

They were weapons of a race long gone – a race that lived on in but two people now.

I lifted Amidala with the Force at the same time that I depressed a secret button. A section of the wall slammed down into the floor, opening up a secret chamber. A single stone platform lay in the middle. Carefully placed and designed windows in the ceiling above traced intricate patterns on the floor with the sunlight . . . patterns that were old, potent, and sacred.

_No. Not a platform. A death bed. And this chamber? A tomb for every single Jedi in existence. Here, I shall ensnare every Force-user in every universe, sealing them with a mind bomb that no one shall be able to break, not even a millennia of millenniums afterwards._

I put Amidala carefully on the death bed, using the Force to arrange her just so – so that the pyramid of light that was cast by the sun and the windows fell across her face, so that her arms lay straight and flat by her sides, so that her hands lay palm up in a large circular basin.

Raising the daggers with the Force, I slit both of Amidala's arms from above her elbow to the beginning of her middle finger. Dark, warm, silent blood gushed out and formed a pool in her palm. Then it ran down through the basins her hands rested in, circling into a single pool at the bottom of the platform, a few feet from her feet.

"At last. After so many millennia, at last. At last the ritual – has begun!"

I felt the shields that protected this place drop then. Power rushed into my veins as I put my hands under the stream of warm blood. Raising them, I gestured and other sections of the walls around me fell heavily, pushed outward with a mere flick of a finger. Fading sunlight poured into the chamber, dancing and flickering over Amidala's face and illuminating the wet streams of blood.

_Come and find me, Kya Ranor. Come forth and challenge me, test your mettle and power and skill against me. Prove yourself as the Walker you were born to be._

_For I am ready for you._

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
"_What in the name of the Force was that about?_"

Mace, predictably, exploded the second the moment was broken and Kya ran out the door. Obi-Wan was still standing at the door, his hands still gripping at the empty air that Kya had inhabited only seconds before.

I was actually surprised that Mace recovered that fast.

Obi-Wan turned around, his face surprising calm, although a hint of tears still glittered in his blue-green eyes. "You can't tell?" he asked calmly.

_And to think of all the times he's lectured me about baiting the Council!_ I thought with an amused shake of my head. But then again, if that had been Tahl and me, I probably would have done the exact same thing.

"You know what I mean!" Mace, for the first time since I had known him, seemed to have lost his temper. Half-rising from his chair, he thundered, "Stars above, why would you two do that?"

Obi-Wan sighed heavily, almost irritably. Tucking his hands into the sleeves of his cloak, he closed his eyes and I felt the Force coil around him. Then I felt a certain section of his shields drop, and the life-bond between him and Kya suddenly hummed to life.

Mace's eyes grew wide as he stumbled backwards. Gasps travelled the room as for the first time we were allowed to sense the magnitude of the bond between the two apprentices. Even I, who had had a taste of it before, was amazed.

_It's so powerful and deep that I can't believe it's only been formed since they came back to Naboo_, I reflected somberly. Their bond was the bond one usually sensed between bonded partners who had been bonded for thirty years or more. But Kya and Obi-Wan had spent less than thirty _days_ together.

"But – But _how_?" Adi spluttered.

Obi-Wan raised an eyebrow. "You tell me. I didn't even realize we had a bond until I accidentally heard Kya's thoughts. To be honest, we're both surprised that none of you sensed it when you were digging around in her head."

The less than thrilled tone he used told me just how unhappy he was with the Masters, in his words, "digging around in her head".

"This bond is dangerous, Padawan Kenobi," Ki-Adi-Mundi warned. "Especially since you approach the Trials when we return to Coruscant."

Mace nodded in agreement. "We have no choice but to tell you to sever that bond, Padawan Kenobi, before things go too far."

Obi-Wan eyed him calmly. "No. I won't and I can't."

"You would risk Knighthood – you would risk continuing down the Jedi path – for this bond? For that apprentice? For _love_?" Adi asked incredulously.

Obi-Wan's face hardened and his hands dropped down back to his sides. "If you wish to expel me, go ahead."

There was a silence after that challenge. The Council was caught. They wanted to keep Obi-Wan – he would become an exceptional asset to the Order, no one doubted that – but to allow him to love was to condone breaking the Jedi Code.

Sensing his advantage, Obi-Wan pressed forward and continued talking. "You've all trained me to follow the will of the Force, and to live in the here and the now. I've done that. You know as well as I do that life-bonds are created by the Force; _I_ didn't do this on my own, and neither did Kya. So don't blame either of us. Trust me, we both tried very hard to ignore the bond, but . . . well, it's not something you just _ignore_."

Mace sighed. "I understand your reasoning, Padawan Kenobi, and I even sympathize – but the simple fact is that love was and is still against the Jedi Code. We simply cannot allow it."

Obi-Wan looked around the Council. "Isn't the Jedi Code supposed to reflect the will of the Force?" he demanded.

The Masters shifted uncomfortably. _He has a point_, I thought. _But the Masters will never acknowledge this._

"Well? _Isn't it?_" Obi-Wan pressed.

"Be silent, Padawan Kenobi," Adi said sternly. "You have not only broken the Jedi Code, but now you defy the Council to our face? Don't you know the punishment for this?"

"Punish me, then! Expel me from the Order!" Obi-Wan's face was defiant. "Let the Jedi Order know that the Jedi High Council expelled me for accepting a life-bond because I broke the Jedi Code in doing so!"

Adi's steely blue eyes flashed. "_Be silent_," she snapped. "You have gone too far, Obi-Wan Kenobi. A few more words, and that threat may become real."

Obi-Wan opened his mouth to snap back, but just then the dark side rippled. A powerful sense of horror saturated the Force at the same time that the Force suddenly started following a rapid descent into darkness.

Everyone gasped or groaned. I, being more in tune with the Living Force, felt like a nail was being driven through my skull, and my hand flew up to my forehead as I staggered. Mace nearly fell over, but luckily his chair was still there.

_NO!_

The desperate thought flew through the Force, sending an electric shock to all of us. Now the Force started righting, but slowly, oh so slowly. The pain lessened, but the shock still made all of us wince.

But the worst effect by far was on Obi-Wan. His eyes went wide, and for a second all calm deserted him as plain fear showed. "Kya!" he exclaimed.

I belatedly recognized the thought as being Kya's.

Obi-Wan whirled and ran out of the doors. I marveled at how he could even stand with the pain that we were all feeling. _I guess his love for Kya is stronger than I thought._ Other Masters seemed to come to the same conclusion as we began going after him.

_I just hope it can save her._

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I pushed myself as I ran across the city, not stopping or pausing for anything. I had burst into Padmé's chambers after I had ran from the Jedi Council to make sure she was okay and that Palpatine was gone before I moved against him.

It was then that I'd learned from Captain Panaka that she'd left with Palpatine outside the palace.

_Padmé, you fool_, I thought for the umpteenth time. _Why, oh _why_ did you leave? I told you expressively to _stay_. . ._

I called upon the Force again to speed my pace just as dark laughter rolled through it. I stumbled, tripping and falling down. Sitting up, I gasped as shields collapsed from where they'd held in a gathering darkness.

I probed the darkness swiftly, and horror filled me. The dark side was rising, swelling like the sea flows to overwhelm the shore when the tide comes in.

_The ritual has begun._

I had no idea where _that_ thought came from, but the next thought was purely my own. _I've got to stop it! Uh, whatever _it_ is._

True to my thoughts, I started running again. But this time as I ran, I drew the Force to me. I didn't bother to grab my lightsaber. Somehow, I knew that it would have little to play in the events to come.

I mean, I was facing forces as old as the universe. What good would a _lightsaber_ do against things like that?

When I reached the place, I noted with more horror how it was constructed. The open are interrupted only by thin pillars. . . The roof with specially cut holes that were casting certain designs on the floor. . . And the stone platform that rose in the middle. . .

_Not a platform. A bridal bed, waiting to marry the one who lies down upon it to death. For to death the sacrifice will be bound forever. . ._

I groaned. _Such morbid thoughts! I really wish I knew where all of this information I am getting is coming from_, I thought to myself, still grumbling. I crouched in the field, judging the distance and trying to figure out what I was going to do. _Okay, my Master's planning skills would probably help right about now._

Then I noticed who was lying on the stone platform.

_Padmé!_

Without even stopping to consider the complete and utter stupidity of what I was now doing, I ran forward to Padmé's side. "Padmé," I gasped when I skidded to a halt by her side. I touched her arm only to recoil when I felt something warm and fluid against my skin.

In dawning horror, I realized that both of Padmé's arms were slit from elbow to her middle finger, and that blood was gushing down to a basin below her feet.

_No!_

"Oh, yes, Walker, oh, _yes_."

I whirled around as Sidious jumped down from . . . from somewhere. Despite my earlier vow not to involve my lightsaber, years of training under my Master in a war zone and Jedi instinct prevailed in that split second. My hand flew to the lightsaber at my hip, and I activated it, the blue glow casting a pale reflection across the floor.

Unfortunately, he didn't seem bothered by it.

He stepped forward. "The ritual has begun. You cannot stop it now," he said triumphantly. "Not even your famous powers as a Walker give you the right to stop this ritual without _my_ agreement."

"Why her?" I demanded, gesturing at Padmé, who was still unconscious.

He raised an eyebrow. "What, would you have preferred me to use my second choice instead? To trade her life for that of your mate, Obi-Wan Kenobi?"

I felt my eyes widen as I took a step backward. "What?"

He grinned. "Ah, I see I hit a nerve." He stepped forward, slowly and deliberately, as if trying to keep the distance between us always the same. "My original choice was indeed Padmé Amidala," he said, his tone so matter-of-fact that we could have been discussing the weather. "But . . . my second choice was your mate."

"Why did you go through all of this pretense?" I demanded. "Why didn't you just confront me?"

He snorted. "You really are naive. After you bonded with your mate, nothing I could have done would have matched your power. You made your choice, Walker."

"So you decided instead to force my hand?"

"I had to gain the advantage somehow."

I nodded. "Then you've made your choice. And I've made mine!" And with that, I called upon the Force to heal Padmé's arms in one explosive burst of energy. She gasped, sitting bolt up as my power sliced through the Force-command keeping her asleep, and I pushed her off the platform, totally disrupting the ritual.

That was probably not one of my smartest ideas.

I gasped and stumbled when the dark side rippled powerfully and everything seemed to tilt and slide out of focus. It felt like an earthquake was upsetting the balance in the Force, which rapidly descended towards darkness.

_NO!_

I clutched at it, throwing myself at the task. Calling upon every last bit of strength I had in me, I seized the Force and tried to keep it sort of balanced. For a second, it worked, and the descent stopped, although a collective flash of alarm flared and I sighed.

_Sithspit. The Jedi Council sensed that. Not good. Now they'll all come running._

I wouldn't mind Obi-Wan at my side; even though I really didn't want him getting involved in this, the bond between us would give us an advantage. But with the Masters there, I'd only hear questions and see no action.

But then things got worse – Sidious interfered.

I saw a vague blur of his hand as it flew up to shoulder height, but I didn't recognize the danger until the Force thickened around me and suddenly I couldn't breathe.

And I must note that my danger sense flared seconds _after_ I realized this.

I choked, my hands flying instinctively to my throat. He gestured, slamming me against the platform, and whatever breath I'd managed to pull in just before he choked me went flying out in a startled, pained gasp.

He stepped closer as my vision began to blur. Jedi could stretch out small amounts of oxygen for amazing periods of time – but only with preparation and only if they had oxygen in them to begin with.

I had neither.

"All too easy," he said softly. "Perhaps you aren't as strong as the Emperor thought."

I stared at him, confusion erupting in me. _What Emperor?_

He sensed my confusion and laughed harshly. "Why, the new Emperor of the universe, little Walker. The one who rules the Empire that _you_ will create. Your death is the last thing we need." He leaned closer, lowering his voice as he did so. "And you played straight into my hands."


	48. Chapter 46

_**Chapter Forty-Six**_

**32 BBY**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I entered the scene just as Kya's eyes fluttered and she seemed on the verge of passing out completely. Palpatine – or Sidious – was raising a bloody dagger towards her.

"No!" I shouted in panic. Using the Force and calling upon my love for Kya and the desperation and fear I had within me, I sent Sidious flying – first he tumbled over Kya, and then he flew backwards until he slammed full force into a pillar.

I ran forward as fast as I could, but I still barely managed to catch my lover just in time to lower her gently to the ground before she smashed into it. Kneeling by her side, I kept one arm around her back to support her. She was coughing, but I sensed no real physical damage had been done.

"Kya?"

Her eyes opened when I uttered her name, and they cleared as she recognized me. She sat up slowly, leaning against me like she was blind. "Obi-Wan," she murmured, her voice growing stronger by the word. "Obi-Wan, you shouldn't have come."

I hugged her close, letting loose a relieved sigh. "Thank the Force you're okay," I said fervently. She gave me a weak smile as she closed her eyes and let me hug her. She tucked her head next to my neck as one of her hands rested on my shoulder.

Still worried about her, I reached for Kya again through the Force to confirm that she was really okay . . . only to slam against the barrier she'd constructed. "Kya!" I exclaimed, my eyes flashing open.

"Sorry," she offered meekly. Then the Force swirled around her momentarily before the block vanished, and I sighed in relief as the bond opened again and I once again could sense Kya through the Force. I felt Kya relax against me as well, and felt the relief she felt.

But then I remembered Sidious and my head snapped up. _I don't see him. That can't be good_, I thought with a sigh. I looked back down at my lover.

"Kya, where's your lightsaber?" I said, noticing for the first time that her lightsaber wasn't hanging from her hip as it usually was.

She extended a hand with a frown, and her hilt flew towards us seconds later. "I dropped it when the Force went all crazy on me," she explained as I stood and pulled her up beside me, keeping one hand on her shoulder.

"I felt that shift too," I said uneasily. "What happened?"

Kya shook her head slowly, as if she was dazed. "I'm not quite sure. . . I interrupted the ritual and then everything just sort of – Oh, Force, Padmé!" she exclaimed. She darted away from me, running around the weird stone platform.

When I rounded the platform, I noticed the Queen with shock. She was lying on the floor, unconscious, and her blue dress was slit at the arms and stained. _Stained with blood_, I realized chillingly seconds later.

Kya, who was kneeling on the cold floor, reached out to touch the Queen's forehead as I went down on one knee beside her, touching her shoulder to offer my own strength to her. She flashed me a quick grateful look before returning her attention to the Queen. But while my lover was devoting full time to wake the Queen, I extended my senses in every direction, looking for Sidious.

The Force surged then, and then the Queen's eyes opened slowly, her brown eyes dazed. "What – What happened?" she said groggily.

"What do you remember, Padmé?" Kya asked patiently.

"Not much," the Queen said slowly as Kya helped her sit up. "Just going to this place and then – Oh, no! I should have told you! Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord! The one you've been looking for all this time!"

I shared a glance with Kya. "We know," Kya said.

The Queen gaped at us. "But – But how did you – " she spluttered to our amusement. I had never seen the young Queen so at a loss for words.

But then Kya's face became more serious as she cut off the Queen's words. "Padmé, listen to me now," Kya said urgently, pulling the Queen to her feet." You need to get up and get out of here _now_. Run for the Palace. Don't stop until you're back in the walls of the Palace. And don't look back, no matter – "

"Padawan Ranor!" boomed a loud voice.

I sighed when I turned to see the entire Jedi Council – and my Master – running towards us. Master Gallia's face was furious, while my Master seemed merely amused.

Kya groaned, but as they drew close, she straightened. "Masters, I told you not to come," she said, her tone irritable. "It's bad enough that you let Obi-Wan here – now you've given him thirteen _other_ people to sacr–"

"Kya!" I snapped instinctively, whirling around as my danger sense flared. My lightsaber slapped into my palm and I activated it just in time to send three precisely aimed blaster bolts back to their source, which lay somewhere in the darkness.

Kya cursed under her breath and pushed the Queen towards the road. "Go, Padmé! Now!" she shouted. As the Queen took off, I heard another _snap-hiss_ as Kya ignited her own lightsaber.

But no more bolts came. Puzzled, I slowly shifted out of my defensive stance, but I didn't deactivate my blade. I glanced over my shoulder to see Kya give me a confused shrug as well.

"Well, I didn't expect that," she murmured, straightening. But her sapphire eyes remained narrowed, and the Force was still tense around her, as if ready to spring at whatever moved within sensing distance . . . which, considering Kya was a Jedi, was pretty big.

"And you still should leave," she tossed over her shoulder to the Masters. "Unless you want to take Queen Amidala's place as – "

Kya suddenly broke off and tried to turn around. But it was too late – the Force surged and she went flying forward. She slammed into a wall – and hard. So hard that her breath left her and she dropped her lightsaber again.

"Kya!"

Startled and once again worried out of my mind for my lover's, I raced to her side, frantically shutting off my lightsaber lest I accidentally slice her.

"Get away from her, Obi-Wan!" came a shout from another angle of the street. "She's a Sith!"

~ _Siri Tachi_ ~  
I fell heavily into a wall as the dark side rippled. _NO!_ The following thought also blasted through my mind, startling me. The voice that shouted was a combination of fear and desperation – and it belonged to that lying Kya Ranor.

Standing up, I began to run towards the source. Thoughts – each as unlikely as the next – whirled in my head. _Is she a fallen Jedi? An apprentice who's lost her Master and so has reverted to the dark side? Or . . . or is she a Sith? Has she been a Sith from the beginning?_

Obi-Wan's image popped in my head. It had been my decision to end the love between us, and now I was starting to think it was a mistake. _If we still were in love, I could warn him about this Ranor_, I thought. _I sure hope he's not in danger because of her._

I arrived just in time to see Obi-Wan activate his lightsaber as he whirled around and deftly deflected three successive blaster bolts. Ranor's blade was lit seconds afterwards as she turned. When no more bolts were fired, Obi-Wan shifted out of his stance.

Ranor turned to him, her blade still angled up and away, as if she meant to slice through his torso with it. . .

_Oh, no, you don't!_ I snarled to myself. I shoved outwards with the Force and Ranor went flying. I noted with surprise that she had already begun twisting around to face me – no doubt she'd sensed me call upon the Force – but it only made for a harder landing for her.

"Kya!" Obi-Wan shouted, racing to her side.

For a split second jealously flared in my veins. The tenderness and concern I heard in his voice and sensed in him was something new. I had never heard such a mix from Obi-Wan before, not even when he'd professed that he loved me.

_What do you see in her that you didn't see in me?_ I seethed.

Raising my voice, I called, "Get away from her, Obi-Wan!" He started, swiveling to glance at me. "She's a Sith!"

I stomped over to the pair, noting with relief that Ranor had dropped her lightsaber. _This will make things easier._ Ranor's eyes fluttered open then, but they cleared almost immediately, revealing dark sapphire depths.

I ignited my own lightsaber and pointed it at her throat. "Who are you?" I demanded.

Obi-Wan stiffened in his kneeling position by Ranor, and I noted with another flare of jealously how he was holding her close to him, as if he meant to lift her and cradle her against his chest. _He never did that for me!_

"Siri Tachi," Ranor said after a moment. "Well, this is unexpected, even for the impulsive Knight that you were."

I blinked, my hand wavering. "What?"

Ranor rose slowly, pulling away from Obi-Wan. He shot me a dark glare, his own lightsaber in his hand. The message was clear: _Try to hurt her, and I'll block._ His blue-green eyes practically screamed the challenge.

I ignored him, returning my attention to Ranor. _He won't hurt me. He still loves me. And besides, Jedi don't hurt fellow Jedi._

Ranor's eyes flashed suddenly, and she frowned. "Jedi Tachi . . . is that . . . is that jealously I'm sensing from you?" she asked, her tone alarmed.

Obi-Wan blinked and turned to her.

"No!" I protested. "I'm merely suspicious."

"Of whom?" Ranor asked calmly.

"Of you!" I shouted. "You turn up out of nowhere without a Master, presume to command the Jedi Council, and then you go off and seduce a Jedi Padawan."

Ranor's eyes hardened, and suddenly she seemed much older and a bit more intimidating. "I _am_ a Jedi Padawan, Jedi Tachi, and I do not seduce _anyone_," she said, her voice low and threatening. "And I would thank you to move your lightsaber."

"Not until you answer my question," I growled back. "_Who is your Master?_"

She stared at me with cold, glittering sapphire eyes. After a moment, she said flatly, "My Master is dead. Telling you his name will do you no good." Then she suddenly dropped and the Force surged, sending me stumbling a few steps backward.

When I recovered my balance, Ranor had her lightsaber in her hand again and Obi-Wan was standing by her side, one hand on her shoulder.

"It was foolish of you to intervene, Jedi Tachi," Ranor said softly. I started when she addressed me as a Knight, but she was already moving on. "And now I ask you to leave."

I stood my ground. "Not until I found out what's going on."

Ranor sighed and glanced towards Obi-Wan, a question in her eyes. He squeezed her shoulder gently.

I eyed the exchange with another flare of jealously. Obi-Wan had never acted like that around me.

_Then again, you never gave him the chance_, a voice inside of me whispered. _You were already taking control and letting him help you. You never asked for help._

Ranor turned back to me as Obi-Wan dropped his hand and walked off to investigate the platform that was in the middle of this area. "Very well," she said, her tone resigned. "My name is Kya Ranor, and I'm from the future. Where I come from, the Jedi Order is all but dead because of the Sith. I'm trying to prevent that from happening again. That is why I try to reason with the Council – they need to know certain things."

"Like the identity of the Sith?" I asked sarcastically. _She's gone crazy. I can't believe the Council can't see that._

Ranor raised an eyebrow. "Of course. The Sith Master is Palpatine," she said calmly, if merely stating that the Jedi Temple was on Coruscant.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
The explosion from Siri Tachi came faster than I had thought. "That's impossible!" she declared.

Kya sighed and turned in my general direction, to where I was examining the platform that Padmé had lain on. I could feel my lover's disgust of the ritual, and as I traced some of the symbols carved into the platform, I found that I could understand some of them. I wasn't sure how, but I guessed that it the Force's doing, urging me to understand what threatened Kya and to protect her.

_Did I ever mention that I hate saying things like this?_ Kya asked me, her tone irritated and resigned.

I held back a smirk. _Patience, Kya. I'm sure Siri will come to realize that what you say is the truth._

_Sure. After or before she gets over being jealous of me?_

I sensed Kya roll her eyes as she turned back to Siri. There was a rustle of clothing, and I heard my lover give off a strangled gasp of surprise as alarm and surprise flared across our bond.

I whirled around, activating my lightsaber, and noted with astonishment that Siri had marched right up to Kya and was now lifting her by the front of her tunic, gripping and twisting it so tightly that Kya was having trouble breathing.

"Let her go, Siri," I growled, taking a threatening step forward. Whatever feelings I had ever felt for Siri were pushed aside now that she was threatening Kya; my whole focus was on protecting Kya now.

Siri didn't react visibly, although her fingers did tighten on Kya's tunic. Kya's hands came up then, and she tried to push Siri away.

"Siri," I heard her gasp with a breath of air.

"_Let her go_," I snarled, emphasizing each and every syllable. Every single muscle in my body was preparing to spring and shove Siri away from Kya, but I didn't dare to whilst Siri had such a tight grip on my lover.

It was with a start that I realized the dark side was swirling around Siri, like a black, menacing cloud. _Sidious is controlling her actions, playing on her jealously_, I realized. _But how? And where is he?_

Then the dark side surged, and my head jerked upward just in time to see Sidious appear and a dark liquid begin falling – right towards my lover.

"No!" I shouted.

Time seemed to slow . . . as I surged forward and knocked Siri and my lover out of the way. The liquid soaked through my clothes, and pain flashed through me like a lightning bolt. With a cry of pain, I collapsed.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I coughed and gasped for air when Obi-Wan collided with us, knocking us apart and sending us both tumbling backwards. At least Siri had released me. But then I heard a cry of pain, and my head snapped up just in time to see Obi-Wan collapse, shuddering in pain.

I heard Master Jinn shout something as Obi-Wan started shaking.

I noted with horror how blood was oozing on my lover's clothes, staining them a bright blood red that completely unnatural – especially since my lover was not wounded.

"No!" I screamed, realizing how Sidious had tricked us. "Obi-Wan!"

I tried to scramble forward, to save him, but time was so slow and I was so slow. With each step forward, Obi-Wan's shakes grew worse, as if he was being possessed by some inner demon that was making him twitch and yell and shake. His face twisted in pain and his hands clenched into fists as tremors completely took over his body.

When I was one step away from him, Obi-Wan arched upwards with a terrible scream, his face contorting into pain, and the blood on him blazed brilliantly, blinding me. His outline shimmered with flashing colors – and there was a powerful explosion.

I was sent flying backwards, half-blinded and screaming, but this time I slammed into the wall, there was no fast recovery, no arm around my back.

I opened my eyes to find that every single Jedi had been blasted backwards by the force of the explosion. Where Obi-Wan had laid, there was a giant crater . . . and above that crater was an eerie black door.

The archway shimmered with glowing lights around the edges, but the inside was a cold blackness dotted with tiny yellow lights. It excluded a cold aura, one that neither light nor dark and that was as dangerous to all people, Walker or non-Walker. The Force was completely silent around it, as though the crater just didn't exist in the Force.

Sidious jumped down and landed right in front of the archway, an evil grin on his face. "I told you that my plan would be completed," he said softly. "With or without your help."

I struggled to my feet. "How dare you involve Obi-Wan!" I shouted, feeling a rage that was partly mine and partly that of the Walkers before me. "He had nothing to do with this conflict! He's part of the Jedi Order!"

"He is your bonded mate, and thus he is part of this conflict," Sidious countered.

I snarled. "Where did you send him?" I demanded, activating my lightsaber and pointing it at him threateningly. That ritual had not been, as I had thought, to complete the ultimate conquest, but merely to open a gateway. It required similar steps, only the sacrifice wasn't killed – only severely weakened.

In other words, my lover wasn't dead. He had merely been flung into another universe.

Besides . . . if he had died . . . I would have known, because I wouldn't be alive anymore. Completed life-bonds meant that if one died, the other would soon follow.

Sidious chuckled. "I am not saying. You'll have to find out for yourself, Walker. But trust me – with Order 66 in place, he won't live long. And neither will you."

A rock came out of nowhere and smacked Sidious so hard that he doubled over. "What the – " he gasped, looking around frantically.

Siri appeared and with a surge of the Force sent Sidious scooting backwards. Then she turned to the gateway with a determined look on her face, one hand on her lightsaber and one hand raised hesitantly towards the black interior of the archway.

My tired brain suddenly realized what she intended to do. "Siri, no!" I shouted, dashing forward.

But Siri didn't listen. She threw herself at the archway, and I was blasted back again with another powerful explosion and blinded once more by a brilliant flash of light.

I fell to my knees. "No!" I barely managed to whisper. "No . . ."

Now, not only would I have to rescue my lover, but now also Siri! And I didn't even know where they had been sent! _And_, to top it off, if they had been sent into a universe where Order 66 had been enacted, there was a great possibility that my lover would run into his older self, thus increasing the chances of assimilation, while Siri . . . Siri didn't _have_ anyone to assimilate with! Her assimilation would mean her death!

My attention was drawn back to the present when Sidious let out a cackling laugh. I turned just in time to let my hands intercept his lightning. Pain flashed through me at the initial jolt, but I used the skills I had learned to manipulate energy to let the lightning flow through me harmlessly.

Sidious looked stunned when I stood tall, unharmed and fully ready to slice his head off. Then he shrugged, as if to say, "Oh, well. I've got other things to do." And before I could stop him, he leaped through the gateway.

I was prepared this time for the blast and held my ground, but not for the light, which blazed the brighter than both earlier times combined. Blinded, I took a stumbling step backward while instinctively pulling up my lightsaber into guard position in front of me.

And when I opened my eyes, I could only groan. There was no gateway now. If not for the crater where it had stood, one could have believed that nothing unusual had ever stood there and that nothing strange had transpired.

Sidious had sealed the gateway behind him.

If I wanted to go after my lover and Siri, I would have to open a gateway myself.


	49. Chapter 47

One of my reviewers asked whether or not Master Kenobi (Kya's Master) would remember the altered past. Before things go a little crazy with the universe thing, let me explain one thing. I had Kya explain in one of the previous chapters that there are hundreds of _versions_ of the SW universe. Kya was pulled out of one and into another. Thus, when one universe's plot line is altered by her – or by anyone – it does _not_ affect the others. So Master Kenobi (Kya's Master) would not remember anything altered because in his universe that didn't happen. I hope that this clears it up, Tara.

Therefore, whenever I write "**19 BBY**" I am referring to Kya's home universe, the original one that she comes from. When I write "**32 BBY**" I am referring to the new universe, the one Kya got dumped into.

* * *

_**Chapter Forty-Seven**_

**19 BBY**

~ _Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I slammed full force into the pavement with a groan. _Ouch. . ._ Already, my body was complaining about smashing into Siri and Kya; it did not help that I'd just been slammed on my back into the pavement.

As I sat up, I rubbed at my head and tried to reach for Kya through our bond. But to my surprise, the bond was completely silent – there was some sort of funny block in the middle, like a jammer that messed up whatever I tried to send.

I froze when I heard the clicking of blasters and looked around. I groaned softly as my vision cleared and I saw the blasters. Nine people in white armor all had their blasters – and at all full power too, not stun – aimed at me.

I tensed and tried to go for my lightsaber, but then one of the men said, in a flat mechanical voice that sounded more like a robot than a sentient being, "Don't move, Jedi. One twitch and we'll shoot. We don't have to bring you in alive."

"What are you?" I asked warily, frantically trying to stall so I could figure out how to get out of this mess.

I felt astonishment emanate from them. But as one began to answer, there was a brilliant flash of light . . . and then Siri fell down right next to me, startling all of us.

But if there was one thing Jedi were good at, it was taking advantage of surprise.

Leaping to my feet, I whipped out my lightsaber and starting causing chaos.

The men were good, using sophisticated flanking maneuvers that I recognized as belonging to Jedi and covering for each other smoothly. But even so, there were only nine of them, and when Siri finally came to her senses and started battling next to me, the outcome was easily identified.

Within one more minute, they were all dead.

Kneeling down, I deactivated my lightsaber and rummaged through one of the men's supplies. My suspicions were confirmed when I pulled out a piece of currency and noted the date. _Thirteen years into the future. Oh, great. I got thrown into another universe._

I sighed and looked around. I recognized the skyline of Coruscant with a start. Only . . . this was different. The Force here was clouded and dark, instead of the pure, clean feeling I'd always sensed at home.

" – in blazes is going on, Obi-Wan Kenobi?" Siri said, her loud voice jolting me back to the present.

I sighed again and turned to her. Apparently I'd have to do this the hard way. Grabbing her arm, I dragged her into a nearby building, making sure that we couldn't be overheard.

"Siri, what happened after I vanished?" I demanded. "And why are you here?"

Siri blinked, taken aback by my actions and my words. "After you vanished, the Chancellor appeared and started gloating. I pushed him away and followed you here . . . wherever here is, of course."

I groaned. _Why did Kya let her come?_ I thought in annoyance. Getting home was already starting to look like a daunting process; now I would have to put up with Siri – whose jealously I could now sense without problem – as well.

"'Here' is the future," I told Siri after a moment. "This is the future where Kya came from."

"What?" For a second, I thought Siri would believe me, but then she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. Don't tell me that you actually _believe_ that fish tale that she threw out that. There's no way she can come from the future."

"Oh really? Are you so sure?" I was starting to get annoyed with her. "Then do you have any idea what those weapons are? Or who those men are? Or why they targeted us the second they realized we were Jedi?"

Siri hesitated, her eyes showing uncertainty for the first time as she too reached out to the Force and felt the darkness that stained it.

The darkness that certainly hadn't been there on Naboo.

I pulled out the slip of currency as she hesitated. "Look at the date," I told her.

Siri gasped as the date registered, and I felt acceptance – reluctant as it was – finally begin to flow into her. "She wasn't lying," she whispered quietly, the slip falling from her unmoving fingers and floating to the ground.

I nodded. "Yes. And I think we've gone to her time."

"What?"

"You heard me. Now pull up your hood," I instructed, doing the same myself. "Kya told me about her home, and there a few things you should know.

"First off, the men back there – they are called clone troopers," I said, remembering the images of the Clones Wars that Kya had shown us. "Avoid them as much as possible and do whatever it takes to stay out of sight; they have direct orders to kill or arrest every single Jedi they can find.

"Secondly, do not give out your name or my name or mention anything to do with the Jedi Order; we are considered traitors of the Republic here and a large reward is posted for anyone who turns in Jedi.

"Lastly, we need to make it to the Jedi Temple. Hopefully we can find some help there."

As we vanished into the shadows, Siri voiced the one question that was on my mind: "What if we don't find help there?"

I didn't answer.

**32 BBY**

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
"What do mean, they might die?"

Mace's voice was sharp, silencing through the silence like a blade slices through butter. His deactivated lightsaber was held in his hand from when we had all pulled out our weapons in preparation to duel, but Darth Sidious was gone, it seemed.

That would have been nice to say . . . until I got to the part where Obi-Wan and Siri were missing as well.

We must have made quite a sight. The space around us was a mess, with a backdrop of broken and smoking columns. Around Mace stood the other members of the Jedi Council, with a variety of expressions on their face, from disbelief and anger to fear and concern.

And Kya – Kya was kneeling in front of the crater where she'd screamed in denial as Sidious had jumped through the archway before it flashed and vanished. Tears were falling down her face in what seemed like a never-ending stream. Pain and anguish were the only emotions I was sensing from her.

"Assimilation," Kya answered tonelessly. "They don't belong there. If they stay too long . . . they will cease to exist."

"Cease to exist?" I cut in sharply.  
"They'll die," she said flatly. "And nothing will ever bring them back."

Sharp gasps rippled around the Council members as we exchanged horrified glances. To lose two apprentices, both so promising and young – the thought was horrific.

"But why? What's so wrong about this?" Adi asked, her face twisted with worry for her apprentice.

Kya took a deep breath, swiped away her tears, and rose to face us. Now her face was set into a hard, impassive, determined mask, the same one she had worn when she'd first faced the Jedi Council on Coruscant so long ago, it seemed.

"There are many universes, and they are all connected through the Force. Each version has its own time, which flows differently. But all of them follow the same path, the same story, the same fate . . . save the few that are affected by Walkers like me. As a Walker, I exist in only one or two planes of existence, and as a daughter of the Force, if I stay too long, I join the Force. It is the way things are."

"How does that affect Obi-Wan and Siri?" I asked her.

She sighed. "They were sent to a universe that is thirteen years ahead of us; one where Order 66 has already been enacted. In that universe, many of you who stand before me are dead. Jedi Knight Siri Tachi is also dead; she was killed in the Battle of Azure, fighting to save the lives of others and to protect the codebreaker created by Talesan Fry."

I blinked at the name and shared a glance with Adi. _We know that name._

Kya saw the glance. "Yes, it's him," she confirmed shortly and almost sourly. "Stubborn inventors.

"And Obi-Wan is now a Master on the Jedi Council, as you saw earlier in my memories. Therefore, in that universe, the lines are set. But now Siri and Obi-Wan have interfered and things are getting muddled. They don't belong there, so the Force is now accommodating extra people. So it will try, as a result, to reconcile the two.

"So every time that Obi-Wan or Siri uses the Force, the faster they begin to assimilate. Since Jedi Tachi is dead, Siri has less time to linger – if she stays too long, she will join Jedi Tachi in the Force."

Kya sighed again, pain flashing through her aura. "Obi-Wan isn't much better off, seeing as another version of him exists in that same place. For them, every time one of them uses the Force, they'll grow closer and more alike until there isn't any difference from them. Then they'll combine, become one soul, one mind, one person who is neither the Jedi Master nor the apprentice. He'll be both."

I frowned. _That's the last thing I need; more confusion. Can you get to the point sometime about now?_

"Such a thing has happened only rarely, and it is very dangerous, for if that happened . . . if that happened, the Obi-Wan here would vanish entirely. The universe would rewrite itself, literally – and Obi-Wan wouldn't exist in it. Everything he's said, everything he's done – it wouldn't have happened. You would be living in the galaxy that would result from Obi-Wan not existing."

I gasped, my eyes widening. Obi-Wan had been the one to disrupt the bomb that had nearly blown us – and the mine – up on Bandomeer, our first "mission", just in time. He had healed me when we had confronted Xanatos, giving me back the confidence that had enabled me to teach him. He had stopped me from making the fatal mistake of avenging Tahl – the mistake that would have sent me spiraling into the dark side.

There were hundreds, thousands, millions of things that Obi-Wan Kenobi had done for me, and the Order, and the Republic.

And _every last one_ would be unwritten like someone had erased the words, undone like one unravels a tapestry?

"That would be a nightmare."

The words were out before I could stop them, and I found myself almost not regretting them as a Jedi should.

Kya smiled sadly at me as she shook back the sleeve of her cloak and started walking towards the crater. "You understand, then, why I must retrieve him before things get out of hand," she said quietly.

Adi crossed her arms over her chest, clearly displeased. "And how exactly do you plan to do _that_, apprentice?" she asked sourly.

Kya pushed up the sleeve of her Jedi tunic as well. "There are two ways to open a gateway," she said, her voice so soft that she might as well have been speaking to herself. "One is to invoke the right of innocent blood. The other – " a flash of metal sparkled in Kya's hand " – is to invoke the power of a Walker's blood."

Before we could stop her, Kya raised the dagger that had suddenly appeared in her hand and slashed across her forearm, just below her wrist. Blood streamed from the cut, with I noted with alarm was very deep.

Mace leaped into action. A flick of his mind and a gesture of his hand using the Force, and the dagger went flying – but it was all for naught. As soon as it left Kya's hand, she made a fist and the dagger crumpled into sand as it connected with the floor.

Kya brought her hands together, palm against palm, and raised them upwards to eye level. Then she brought them whistling down, separating mid-flight as though they were twin rocket launchers falling away from the main support.

There was a brilliant burst of light that made stars dance in front of my eyes as I stumbled backwards. Wind rushed at us, pulling at our clothes, but instead of the freezing, dark wind that had blown us backwards and robbed us of our ability to get back up again, this wind was at once cool and warm, gentle yet strong. It had the flavor of a parent laughing gently at a child, not hovering directly over the child as it took its first wobbly steps of independence yet also close enough to catch the child when they fell.

When it was over, I opened my eyes cautiously.

Kya now stood in front of another archway, rimmed in shimmering colors that cast faintly glowing lights on the floor, ceiling, pillars, and everywhere else. It still felt like a void in the Force – cold and empty – but it didn't feel quite as dark.

But perhaps that was just me getting used to it. It was a _doorway_, after all – why should it care who passes through and on what side?

Kya turned to face us. The slash below her wrist was – I noted uneasily – gone, as was all the blood. The only reminder that she had used the dagger on herself was a faint silver line that wrapped around her wrist.

"I'm not going to close this archway, but do not – under any circumstances – _do not enter it_," she said severely, her sapphire eyes commanding obedience. "None of you. I will leave it as a marker. If I die or I fail, the archway will close immediately."

"Yes, my lady," we said in unison.

I shook my head. _What in blazes possessed me to say that?_ Kya was just a Jedi apprentice, not a lady or anything. . . Right?

But Kya didn't give me any more time to bother her with questions. She turned around, took a deep breath, and stepped through the archway.

It, as usual, flashed brightly as she went through.

I sighed. _If anything, I could swear that that flash of those archways is going to annoy me more than anything else that's happened on this mission._

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
When I stepped through the archway, the sensation was akin to falling through a sky of stars. They whistled and whirled, glimmered and glowed, led and lured. They were pinpricks of bright red, gleaming orange, shining yellow, rippling green, brilliant blue, radiant purple, stunning white, mysterious black, and a thousand other colors that dazzled my eyes but I could not name. They were the soft whisper of the wind, the gentle lapping of water, the strong harmony of animals, the quiet call of earth, the independent crackle of fire, and a thousand other sounds that I heard and knew yet passed through me without being noted. They were the icy smoothness of ice, the gentle dampness of mist, the warm gentleness of sunlight, the cool mildness of moonlight, and a thousand other feelings that I didn't know yet felt I should.

Then the fall through the stars stopped abruptly, and I looked around. The pinpricks hovered distantly, waiting and watching. They would wait for me, as they waited for all who passed this way, for time meant nothing to them.

I sighed and closed my eyes. Slowly, I dropped every single barrier and shield I had ever constructed around my mind. Slowly, I allowed the Force to flow into me, suffusing me with its power. Slowly, I called to me all the power that I could.

I gathered all of the power to me and cast it out, searching for any trace of Obi-Wan.

Seconds, minutes, hours passed. Perhaps even days, weeks, months passed. Time meant nothing here, and the passing of time mattered even less.

Finally, an echo returned. Quiet and waning and barely a sound, but it was enough.

With a flick of my hand, I called that universe to me and it rushed towards me – or maybe I rushed towards it. The stars around me weren't meant as a marker of distance, so I wasn't really sure. All I knew was that after a moment, light blazed brilliantly around me . . . and then I was falling for real into another universe.


	50. Chapter 48

To jedi2010: The answer to your question will be addressed later on in this story. Sorry, but if I answered, I'd kind of give away the story's end.

To readers wondering where Anakin went, well, I kind of put him out of sight for two reasons. One, he doesn't really have much to do with the problems going on right now. And two, he'll play a very big part in what's to come, so we'll see him there.

Now, on with the story!

* * *

_**Chapter Forty-Eight**_

**19 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I sighed as I deactivated my lightsaber and stared over the little scene I'd created. Force knew why, but when I had entered this universe, I had been dumped right into a ring of clones. And it didn't help that they'd come from 212th Attack Battalion – the battalion of clones that up until Order 66 had served under my Master.

Therefore, they'd recognized me.

And then, of course, they'd tried to kill me.

But my Master had trained me well – perhaps too well. A bit of Soresu mixed with dodging random blasts and the job was done; the ten clones that had surrounded me were dead, mostly by deflected bolts.

_I had no choice except to kill them._

The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth. Jedi were trained never to take a life without needing to, and my Master and I had always taken the view that even though they were clones, they were still people. We had always tried to preserve life, and to preserve the lives of the clones we'd worked with.

I sighed. After staying so long in the other universe, I had grown complacent. _If they hadn't hesitated and had started firing immediately, I'd be dead right now. That or severely wounded. I need to get my guard back up if I'm to bring Obi-Wan and Siri back in one piece._

But I also had some questions – and I sympathized a lot more with my Master. _When did Jedi stop having choices where taking lives were concerned?_ That was the most troubling thing, I reflected, that the Clone Wars had done to us.

Closing my eyes, I cautiously started poking around the bond I shared with Obi-Wan. It was quiet, although the block had lifted now that we were in the same universe again. I reached out to him, ignoring the trembling, silent bond beside it.

Thus, it was very much to my surprise when that other bond came to life as I accidentally brushed across it – the bond I shared with my Master.

I caught my breath and frantically tried to retract, but it was too late. The ripples had been sent. Unless my Master was closing himself off to the Force, he would sense me, for the block preventing that connection was also gone.

_Of all the universes to choose, Sidious had to dump us in _this_ one!_ I thought in frustration, throwing up my shields around that bond as I felt my Master try to probe me.

Unfortunately, Sidious's choice of this particular universe also made sense. _Now that we're in _this_, my home galaxy, the stakes are higher. . . One misstep, and I lose not only my lover but also my Master. . ._

_Kya?_

My lover's voice rippled through our bond, and I sensed a mixture of fear as well as relief flow through.

_Obi-Wan!_

I reached back to him immediately, not immune to a bit of relief myself.

_Kya, what are you doing here?_ he asked.

_Going after you; what else?_ I shot back. Now that the bond was open, I started making my way towards him. The faster I could find him, the faster we could go home and deal with the consequences of this mess.

He sensed my intentions. _Don't! Don't go towards me!_ he exclaimed.

I stopped, sensing genuine fear from him. _What's wrong? Has something happened to you?_ He was silent for a moment, and I sensed him withdraw from a bond.

_Is Siri still with you?_

Displeasure rolled through the bond. _Yes. But as I was saying before she interrupted, don't come towards us. We, uh, set off an alert when we took care of some clones who found us. Don't give them another reason to track us._

I groaned softly. _You ran into clones _already_?_

I felt a probe sweep across the bond. _Hey, no yelling. I sensed that you ran into clones too_, he said, his tone turning smug.

_But I know how to deal with them._

_So do I_, he protested. _All I have to do is wave my hand and say, "I'm not a Jedi, and you never saw me." Works every time._

_Very funny_, I told him, rolling my eyes yet silently relieved that he could still joke about these things. _So, should we meet at the Temple?_

There was a pause as I felt him consider it.

_That seems like a good idea. That way, if we run into any other Jedi, we can direct them there so they can find a ship and get off-planet._ He withdrew again for a moment, and I waited patiently until he returned. _Siri says it's okay._

I hesitated. Obi-Wan's tone was rather . . . displeased. _What's wrong with Siri?_ I asked tentatively, not sure if he was willing to talk about it.

_She's getting on my nerves. She still doesn't accept that you come from the future._

_Let her._

_She's _jealous_ of you, Kya! You know how hard it is to be able to sense that?_

_Nope. But I'm sure you can deal with it_, I said sweetly._ Master Kenobi is, after all, known for his legendary patience, my love._

He snorted before withdrawing again, ending our conversation.

~ _Master Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I stopped short mid-step when the bond flared to life again. Master Yoda turned to me, but I ignored him, focusing inward.

After my apprentice had fallen unconscious at Utapau, the bond between us had sunken into silence. I had tried to reach Kya through our bond – which was usually very strong – only to be rebounded by a strange block that intercepted everything I sent.

I had reluctantly accepted it; after all, what could I do? I didn't have the time to spend sitting around and trying to contact my apprentice through the Force. My duty now was to fix the Temple's beacon before more Jedi died.

But now the bond had suddenly awakened again. . . The only conclusion I could make was that _Kya_ was awake. . .

Immediately I reached for her. I had left Kya on Senator Organa's ship when Master Yoda and I had slipped out and ventured to the Temple; if she had woken up, no doubt she'd be wondering where she was – and, more importantly, where _I_ was.

However, to my surprise, instead of radiating fear and confusion and reaching back, Kya immediately slammed her shields up, completely up, blocking me out.

Startled, I pushed against her shields, but they were constructed in haste and backed by her raw power, so I could not break through. The haste meant that she had thrown them up the way Master Windu had taught her – a total, unbreakable wall instead of the usual layered defense that Jedi usually constructed. And her power – that I could not combat, not in any way, lest I bring my full power to bear and force my way in.

I would not do that to her.

I spent a few more fruitless minutes trying everything, anything. But the silence on the end was deafening and complete. I didn't know why Kya had thrown her up defenses so quickly and so powerfully, and it concerned me.

When I opened my eyes, Master Yoda was regarding me through unreadable eyes. He spoke first. "Awakened, your bond has," he stated.

"Yes, Master. But for some reason she refuses to allow me entrance."

I fought to keep the concern for my Padawan out of my tone, but when the old Master sighed as I stopped talking, I knew I had failed.

"Powerful, she is. Trained her well, you have. Have a reason, she does."

"I know she does. I just wish I knew what it was."

The old Master grunted and moved off. "Coddle her, you must not, Master Obi-Wan. Dangerous times, there are."

"Yes, Master," I said with a sigh.

He stopped and faced me, his expression fierce yet tempered by emphatic eyes. "Understand you, I do. But travel down this path, you must not. Reveal herself in her own time, Padawan Ranor will."

_Reveal herself? Reveal herself as what? And where?_

These questions – and more – buzzed around my mind, but I did not voice them as we moved off again, at a steady, slinking pace to avoid the clones in the Temple. It was clear that Master Yoda had admitted as much as he was going to admit for today, and I had to be content with that.

Besides, my Padawan was on Senator Organa's ship. How much trouble could she get into there?

~ _Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
The sight of the Temple filled me with horror that no words, thoughts, or even emotions could convey. The grand, majestic, spiraling image of the Temple was supposed to be the symbol of our Order, of peace, of justice.

That symbol was forever shattered, tainted, ruined now.

Because the Temple that was in front of me was shattered, tainted, ruined.

Smoke rising from the pillars and the rooms filled my vision, clouding the usually clean, perfect, majestic sight of the Temple that I carried in my memories. The smell of blood and death filtered through my nose, pushing away the sweet, clean, warm scent of the Temple. The bitter taste of ash and ozone from the blasterfire and the lightsabers lingered in my mouth, a stark contrast to the warm cleanness of the air that I remembered.

And the feeling I used to feel – of being home, of being in the place I belonged. That feeling too was gone.

Now I felt like an outsider, like a man who had returned home only to find that everything has been turned completely upside down and around and rearranged in such a way that nothing can be found and nothing can be returned to the old way.

_The Temple fell to Order 66. Thousands of troops under the command of a Sith apprentice marched on it. They slew every Jedi they could find, from the babies in the crèche to the Masters of the Council that were stationed in the Temple then._

I remembered – dimly – Kya's words. She had spoken them with a haunted look in her eyes, like she would never ever forget that image, no matter how long she lived. Whenever Kya had talked about the Clone Wars and Order 66, she had no longer seemed like a sixteen-year-old carefree, loving apprentice – no, she had become a world-weary Master who had seen too much fighting, too much death, too much war.

Now, I thought I understood why.

The sight of Temple in ruins like that was horrific beyond words, beyond thoughts. The mere thought of how many Jedi – younglings, apprentices, Knights, Masters – had perished there sent a cold shudder down my spine.

_Oh, Kya, my love. . . Is _this_ why you are so haunted by nightmares once you close your eyes? Why you are so driven to do what must be done to destroy the Sith no matter the cost? Why you fear for my death more than anything else?_

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, soothing my inner fears. Kya had dealt with clones before; she would be fine. She would be fine when we arrived at the Temple. _She _has_ to be fine_, I thought fervently.

As Siri stared open-mouthed at the smoking ruins of the Temple, I silently vowed two things.

Firstly, I would never let Kya dwell on this again, and nor would I allow her to ever blame herself for it.

However . . . I also vowed never to let Kya fall into the hands of the Sith. No doubt this was her worst memory, the one thing that she could drown in and never resurface. The one thing that would be the breaking point, the final crack, the deepest cut. The one thing that could reduce her to ash and tears and rubble, never to emerge again.

Suddenly, I couldn't bear to look at the Temple anymore, couldn't bear to think one more time about what had happened. It wasn't very Jedi-like of me, but . . . but under the circumstances, how Jedi-like could I be? In this universe, as Kya had said, the Jedi Order was dead.

_I am a member of a vanquished Order that devoted its whole life to preserving the peace for a government and a people who became responsible for the death._

The thought was chilling.

"Let's go," I told Siri roughly, turning away and no longer watching the Temple.


	51. Chapter 49

Okay, finally here's the confrontation we've been waiting for between Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi and Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi! (My apologies in advance if it doesn't exactly meet up to your expectations, but I had to get the story moving along; it's dragged out really, really, really long.)

* * *

**_Chapter Forty-Nine_**

**19 BBY**

~ _Master Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I shut off the security hologram in horror, unable to watch anymore, my mind numb with horror. I wanted to rewind time and not watch that tape. I wanted to erase my memory of that awful image. I wanted to become blinded and never see again.

I wanted to do anything, _anything_ that would stop me from seeing that tape and the cold, chilling truth it revealed.

But something inside of me – perhaps the part of me that still remembered I was a Jedi – softly told me what I already knew: that no matter what I did, the image of . . . of . . . of _Anakin_ . . . of Anakin doing . . . doing what he had done in the tape. . . That image would forever be branded into my psyche, never to go away.

"Destroy the Sith, we must," Master Yoda said after a moment, his tone firm.

I turned to face him. I had heard at once what he meant, and I couldn't . . . I just couldn't even _think_ about even considering that.

"Send me to kill the Emperor," I told Master Yoda, hiding my doubts about confronting the Sith Lord who had orchestrated all of this. No doubt he was stronger than Dooku and Maul combined, and I had barely, _barely_ beaten Maul – I wasn't even going to talk about what had happened when I'd faced Dooku.

But the other choice –

"I will not kill Anakin," I said, as much to myself as to him.

But Master Yoda wasn't fooled the least bit by my words. "To fight this Lord Sidious, strong enough, you are not."

His voice was firm, and not at all judgmental; he was stating a fact we both knew. I was nowhere near strong enough to confront the Sith Master, especially taking into account how well he had hid himself from us even though we had dealt with the Chancellor directly for nigh over thirteen years.

But still . . .

"He is like my brother," I protested. "I cannot do it." _I _will_ not do it. I will not kill him. I _promised_ Qui-Gon that I would train him, I promised him I would – _

"Twisted by the dark side, young Skywalker has become. The boy you trained, gone he is. . . Consumed by Darth Vader."

In one last desperate attempt, I objected, "I do not know where the Emperor has sent him. I don't know where to look."

Master Yoda was unsympathetic. "Use your feelings, Obi-Wan, and find him, you will," he told me severely.

I looked down. It was my duty, the duty that I been raised and trained to fulfill as a member of the Jedi Order. . . But – But Anakin was my friend, my comrade, my _brother_. I couldn't . . . I couldn't do that. . .

" – a mess," came a voice from around the corner.

I froze, my hand darting to my lightsaber. _A clone? But how did they get over here so quickly? And why weren't we able to sense them as we sensed the others?_

"Quiet," came a male voice. It was mature but young; I guessed it belonged to a young man, perhaps in the late twenties. "Don't attract any clones."

_Don't attract any clones?_ I shared a startled glance with Master Yoda. Could these voices belong to some Jedi who had survived?

"We were able to hold them off," retorted a female voice.

"Only because they were startled. Didn't you realize that the clones were using Jedi flanking maneuvers?"  
"So?" The female voice grew louder as they came closer, and it was filled with a strangely causal indifference.

"_So_ they've already had experience with what Jedi can do. You want to test our skills against a full battalion of these guys?"

The female didn't say anything else, and now I could hear footsteps. One set was wary yet determined, and I guessed it belonged to the male, who seemed to understand the danger of being in the Temple. The other was light and rather causal, as if belonging to a stroll in a park rather than a journey through the ruined, smoking building the Temple had become.

"What exactly are we doing here?" Now the female voice was slightly curious.

"Looking for information. And for survivors," the male answered grimly.

"Don't you already know who stormed the Temple? Or did the famous – "

"Be quiet!" the male snapped. "Do not insult her."

"Sometimes . . . I don't know what you see in her."

The male let out a frustrated groan. "Would you stop picking on her? She can't tell us everything."

And with that, the two young Jedi strode into view. As one, they froze in shock at the sight of Master Yoda and me, and the young man's hand immediately moved to rest on his lightsaber hilt.

They both were Padawans, I saw, and senior ones at that, if the markers of achievement were anything to go by. The young man had light brown hair and blue-green eyes that shone with determination. The young woman. . .

I inhaled sharply. _She looks exactly like Siri._

The young woman had the same blond hair, the same fiery blue eyes, the same set and stubborn expression.

But – But that couldn't be. Siri had died almost two years ago.

"Master Yoda," the young man said finally. His eyes moved to mine, and when I met them, I felt a spark of . . . of something in the Force. Something kind of like . . . recognition . . . but I was sure I had never met this young man before.

Or, at least, I thought I had never. There was something about him. . .

_Who are you?_ I thought. I made to take a step forward, to ask the question, but then a sudden noise distracted all of us.

Because just then my apprentice ran around the corner.

~ _Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I greeted Master Yoda the minute I saw him for how could I fail to recognize him? The Grand Master seemed . . . older, wearier than the Master Yoda in my own world. But after three years of war, what could you expect?

It was the other Jedi who inspired my interest. He was middle-aged, with light brown hair and a beard, and a mature, experienced air about him. He was steady and well-built, and I guessed that he probably a Jedi Master.

Then it was with a shock that I realized that he was the man Kya had shown me before – he was Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

The future version of me.

But before that realization could fully kick in, I felt a surge in the Force and turned just in time to see Kya round the corner. Her face was flushed and her expression worried, but the moment she saw me, her eyes lit up with relief and her shoulders relaxed.

I reached out and took her hands as soon as she was close enough. "Kya, thank the Force," I breathed, searching her eyes and reaching out with the Force to make sure that she was all right. I felt an answering sweep of the Force as she did the same to me.

"I'm fine."

Then she looked past me, and her eyes widened as her gaze landed on the future version of me. She pulled away instantly, startling me so much that even with Jedi reflexes I failed to recapture her hands.

"Master Kenobi." Kya's voice trembled as she spoke the name, and for the first time I heard a strange emotion in her voice. It was one I'd never heard from her before. But . . . it sounded familiar; I felt I should know it.

Master Kenobi walked up the steps, moving his hand away from his lightsaber as he did so. Relief emanated from him in waves so strong that I could practically taste them. He held open his arms to her in invitation.

"Kya. Why so formal, little one?" His tone was affectionate and familiar and teasing he spoke – _too_ affectionate for a mere greeting between fellow Jedi.

And that was when I realized that the strange emotion in Kya's voice had been the same emotion that I spoke to my own Master with.

As he finished speaking, Kya trembled visibly and ran forward, throwing her arms around Master Kenobi as he hugged her tightly. I felt the Force swirl around him as he made sure she was all right, showing Kya nothing less than the fatherly affection that I got from Qui-Gon.

When Kya drew back, Master Kenobi looked at me and I felt him try to probe me. In answer, I threw my shields up to block him. Kya sensed this and turned as Master Kenobi's hand moved to her shoulder, resting there with a familiarity that stunned me.

"I'm sorry," she told me, her eyes pleading.

I made my face as impassive as it could be. Master Kenobi – the future version of me – could be nothing other than her Master. That explained everything, and it was the only thing that fit. I had shone interests in Soresu and was interested in taking it up after I passed the Trials, but I'd mastered Ataru first – just like Kya had said. The future version of me was on the Council, like she'd said. And he'd trained Anakin as his first apprentice before he'd gotten Kya, like she said.

And besides, it totally explained the fatherly way that Master Kenobi acted to her – how his eyes scanned her for injury while he probed her in the Force; how his embrace spoke of the affection between two people that have been through a lot together; even how his hand so easily moved to her shoulder as Qui-Gon's had when I had been younger.

"Is this why you refused to tell us about your Master?" I asked, fighting to keep my voice calm.

Master Kenobi started, but I kept my eyes on Kya.

Kya closed her eyes wearily, and anguish and guilt flooded her. "Yes," she said, her voice so soft she could have been whispering. "How could I tell you?"

"Padawan, what is going on?" There was steel in Master Kenobi's voice as he spoke, and the gentle question became an order.

I jumped in surprise at the sound; it was my voice and yet not my voice. I had only ever heard such a tone from Jedi Masters; never had I ever imagined it in my own voice. And it didn't help that my future version's voice was deeper and seemingly more in control than my own.

Kya sighed, and I saw Master Kenobi tense by her side, as if ready to – at the slightest hint of danger – leap in front of her and whip out his lightsaber to protect her.

Once again, it looked very odd, seeing this. It was me, and yet it wasn't. I mean, I would have reacted the same way, only . . . only . . .

_This is weird._

I looked at my lover and felt a stab of pity for her. _And Kya has to explain all of this._

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
"Master, this is Obi-Wan Kenobi and Siri Tachi. Obi-Wan, Siri, this is Master Kenobi . . . my Master."

I opened my eyes to see Siri's mouth drop. My Master's hand tensed on my shoulder, and I felt his cautious surprise echo through the Force. Master Yoda merely watched all of us, his eyes unreadable.

But it was Obi-Wan's reaction that hurt most of all. Emotions flashed across his face in a quick successive wave before his expression turned impassive and unemotional, like my Master's did sometimes when dealing with politicians or doing something he really didn't want to do with someone he really didn't like. But what hurt was how I sensed him withdraw from the bond, as if reeling in shock.

I wasn't surprised that he was shocked.

I just hoped that he'd be able to forgive me for this.

My Master spoke first. "Padawan . . . How can this be Jedi Tachi? You know as well as I do how – what happened at the Battle of Azure Spaceport."

I sighed again. "I know," I replied wearily, glad that my Master had slid around the fact that Jedi Tachi had died. "But this is not that Siri Tachi. She's still an apprentice . . . as are you . . . in their universe."

My Master frowned at my words, and Obi-Wan stepped in.

"You should know . . . Master Kenobi . . . that there are many different versions of your universe." He nodded at me. "Kya and you live in one, but there are others. I belong to another version, where we have just finished the Battle of Naboo."

My Master inhaled sharply, his hand falling from my shoulder. I could feel his regret, his concern – everything he'd bottled up over the years about that battle . . . and how it had ended.

"The Battle of Naboo?" my Master repeated, his voice strangled with emotion.

Obi-Wan nodded. "And Qui-Gon Jinn still lives," he said softly. He smiled slightly at me. "Thanks to Kya."

My Master turned to me, one eyebrow rising at me in question. "Kya? What did you do, Padawan?" His voice was slightly wary, as if ready to scold me.

Obi-Wan smirked at me. _Haha. This is fun._

_Be quiet._

_I'm never letting you forget this. Maybe I should tell him more about what you have been doing. . ._

_Obi-Wan!_ I growled.

A mental snicker floated across our bond, and I barely resisted the temptation to roll my eyes at him.

Of course, I really couldn't do that; my Master would sense that. He was pretty perceptive of things like that. And I was sure he'd be less than thrilled when I explained to him that I'd entered a life-bond and had fallen in love with a fellow Jedi Padawan.

Especially since the Jedi Padawan in question was the younger version of _him_.

But as I opened my mouth to attempt to explain things to my Master, suddenly things went crazy. I gasped as the dark side rippled with astonishing power. Then time seemed to slow down and freeze. Everything moved in slow motion as crackling pain seared across my heart. I stumbled and fell as the pain intensified, my vision going cloudy and blurred.

As I hit the floor, the pain suddenly flared again, and I screamed. It felt like every vein in my body was on fire, being seared with lightning. With one last overpowering blast of pain, I sank into unconsciousness.

It was a few seconds before I totally blacked out that I realized something – I hadn't been the only one screaming.


	52. Chapter 50

_**Chapter Fifty**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
My eyes flashed open suddenly, and I sat bolt upright. Memories were rushing back into my head with alarming velocity, flashing through my mind's eye at the speed of light.

Opening the gateway. Choosing the universe. Finding Obi-Wan and Siri . . . and my Master. Then bursts of burning pain. Screaming. Falling to the floor. And then waking up here . . . wherever _here_ was.

I looked around. All around me was a strange silver mist, gathered more thickly at the edges of the cloud I was sitting on. Not grey or black-mixed-with-white. Real _silver_, as though it was liquid moonlight turned to shimmering mist or the brilliance of a diamond just as you take it out under the sun but before it sparkles into rainbows.

That was when my eyes fell on another figure, and I shot to my feet in fear and amazement. It couldn't be. It _couldn't_ be.

But it was. Obi-Wan was lying there, his eyes closed, his face pale, his breathing shallow as if he was wounded. Strangely, however, his hands were folded over his chest, as if someone had deliberately moved them there.

I put one of my hands on his – and almost let go in shock. His hand was freezing, and the faint pulse I could feel was erratic.

Alarm spread through me. I had seen enough of war to know that when injuries started getting severe and people started getting too cold, the extremities were the first to go.

"Obi-Wan," I said desperately. I didn't see any wounds; I didn't know what was going on. But I needed to see his eyes open, to see that he was all right.

It was my fault, after all, that he had gotten into this mess.

But Obi-Wan didn't respond. He didn't even twitch.

_It's like he's asleep. But why? And how?_

Concerned, I started to reach out the Force – and this time I really did drop my lover's hand. The Force was all around me, swirling like water does as a stream spills into a pond. It was a heady feeling to feel the Force like this; I felt like I was getting drunk with power as the Force filled me, granting me a sense of power I had never ever felt, even with my considerable midi-chlorian count.

I sliced my connection to the Force and returned my attention to Obi-Wan. But as I made to speak again, a cold, neutral, deep voice issued from behind me.

"He won't wake."

I whirled around. Someone stood at what seemed like the end of the strange silver room – but the silver mist, instead of coiling around him as it had done to me, kept their distance. Darkness hung around him, hazing his outline as if shadows were attracted to him. He was clad in a sweeping black shirt with strange glinting silver designs that appeared and vanished as though he was walking through a forest even though he wasn't moving, and black pants with knee high black boots. A cloak that fastened under his throat with a strange silvery clasp hung about him as though it too was a shadow. In short, his clothes looked like a copy of the Jedi uniform, only he didn't wear a tunic and his clothes were as black as a void in space.

But when I looked at his face, it was the complete opposite of his dark and mysterious attire. His hair was a stunning golden color, as if the very sunlight had been locked into his shoulder length hair. His face was open and honest and clever, as if it belonged to a young child and not a young man. His eyes were a clear blue-grey, like the mist hanging over the ocean or the spray of waves on the rocks.

The two were so contradictory that I blinked in surprise. His face did not look like it belonged to the black clothes he wore, yet he did.

He smiled, and I realized with a start that he was very handsome, actually. But there was something in his smile – something cold, something calculating, something hunted – that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

"Who are you?" I asked warily.

He took a step forward, scattering the silver mist in front of him. "One who would be your friend," he answered, his tone casual and cheerful. "My name is Drakale, Kya Ranor."

"How do you know my name?" I demanded, startled. I tested my mind's shields, but they were up – so how had he known my name? _I am certain that I have never seen him before._

He smiled again. "Do not be alarmed, my sister. I did not read your mind."

I frowned at his words. _What?_ Why would he call me "my sister"? I was pretty sure that I had no brothers.

He took another step and I tensed.

"Do not be alarmed," he repeated softly. "The title is one of endearment, one that our order uses often between fellows members."

"What order?"

"Why, the order of Walkers, my sister," he said smoothly.

The implications raced through my mind at the speed of light. _Order of Walkers – fellow member – _he's_ the fallen Walker!_ I found myself seconds later completely tensed, my lightsaber resting in my hand where I had summoned it.

"_You_. You're the one who's responsible for all of this?" I demanded.

He merely smiled again and spread his hands wide.

I pressed the activation switch on my lightsaber – and then I frowned when nothing happened. Startled, I pressed harder, but still nothing happened. _The power's on – it didn't get fried by water – Why is nothing happening?_

Drakale threw his head back and laughed. "I see that although Lady Elizabeth warned you about me, she told you nothing of the Rules," he said smugly. He snapped his fingers, and the sound echoed strangely. When the sound waves rippled over me, Obi-Wan suddenly shuddered – and then he was started vanishing.

Totally distracted, I whirled around and tried to grab his hand – but he was already fading. My hand passed right through him as though he was a ghost. Obi-Wan's outline rippled once more before it disappeared entirely.

I turned and glared at Drakale as he laughed again. All the humanity and neutrality had faded from his tone – now it was cold and calculating and nothing else.

I rose slowly, emphasizing every syllable. "What – did – you – do – to – him?" I snarled, incensed. Obi-Wan was my lover, my soulmate, and I would not stand for this.

"Oh, nothing serious," he said almost cheerfully. "But it will be easier to talk with you when you're like this."

He crossed his arms with a smirk. "You see, Kya Ranor, there are certain rules that settle when confrontations are begun. You cannot draw a weapon against me until I begin, for it was I who drew you hither. Nor can you lay a hand on me until we both have finished the Summoning."

I frowned. The word _summoning_ echoed strangely in my ear . . . and the echoes did not speak well of the word.

He saw my look. "I see that you fear it, just like the rest of the pathetic order I used to belong to. It is nothing to fear, just a simple little ritual. We are allowed to Summon here three others, that is all."

"What, to scared to fight me yourself?" I said.

His blue-grey eyes narrowed. "Watch your words," he hissed. "I am a fully trained Walker; you are but a child. You cannot match me for power."

He waved a hand and the shadows around him suddenly spread, like a cloud that spreads darkness and taints whatever it touches. The silver mist tarnished and dissipated as the shadows spread, and the warm, almost welcome feeling, vanished to be replaced by cold.

When the mist was completely gone, I saw that there in front me stretched an enormous strange structure of dark gray . . . something. It looked like shadows turned to solid . . . something, as if were I to stick my hand it, I'd never get it back. It looked . . . foreboding and ominous, as if it existed to cause fear and create confusion.

And right in front were two openings.

"It is the Maze," Drakale said, satisfaction present in his tone. "The brighter the order of Walkers, the stronger the Maze, for it feeds off of the brightness and pours poison into all it touches. It exists to fool us. Inside . . . Inside, you will find your lover and your Master."

I whirled around. "Let them go!" I demanded. "This conflict is between you and me; they have no part in this!"

"On the contrary . . . they do."

"They have nothing you need! They are not Walkers."

"But they have your loyalty, your concern, . . . and your love," he purred. "And _that_ is what I need." His tone turned brisk and swift as his form rippled and paled slightly, as if he was just a ghost. "But enough of this pleasant chatter. Time to move on. Choose, Kya Ranor – to whom shall you run to aid?"

"What?"

He gestured impatiently. "Choose an entrance. One will lead you to the rooms where your mate and your Master lie unconscious still; the other, to your doom."

I closed my eyes and reached for the Force – only to feel a stinging pain in my hand that jolted me out of the trance.

"No, no, no," he scolded. "The Force cannot help you."

I snarled under my breath at him, but he merely smiled.

Both entrances were silent and empty and clean . . . but in the distance, from one I saw light. Wavering light, but light all the same. In the distance of the other, I only saw shadows and whispers of darkness.

I darted into the lightened entrance.

As I ran, I could hear laughter – his laughter – echoing in my mind, as if he ran with me. Images, familiar images of my youth, winked at me as I ran past – stern Master Windu; cryptic Master Yoda; gleaming Coruscant, glittering as the sun rose – or was it setting? – and lights came on; strong Master Katarn; majestic Jedi Temple, rising against the skyline of Coruscant.

But so did the dark images of my present.

I saw the bodies of Jedi being counted, marked, and rolled away as if they were nothing but corpses devoid of any obligation of respect. I saw lightsabers being collected to be tossed in a great pit. I saw troop after troop hunting down surviving Jedi.

And then the most frightening image of all burst into being – a blood red lightsaber, slicing through countless Jedi, younglings and Knights alike.

Distracted by the red whirl of light and destruction, I stumbled and the shadows hissed in front of me, blocking my vision. It was like wandering in a fog, when trying to see, or a thick soup, when trying to move.

Then I slammed into something so hard that I went skidding backwards.

The mist cleared and Drakale was there, laughing.

"Oh, nice try," he said, chuckling. "But that won't be enough."

I leaped to my feet, but he was already moving.

He spread his arms again in an abrupt, powerful moment and suddenly spoke in a thundering voice. "I, Drakale, son of the Order of Walkers, summons to me Darth Vereora, Darth Maul, and Darth Sidious, children of the Order of the Sith!"

Pain burst in my mind, and I fell to one knee as agony flared. Drakale laughed coldly, the laugh echoing strangely against the backdrop of thunder and lightning. The silver mist hissed as shadows mixed with and then overwhelmed them. The very air started rippling and bubbling like boiling water. The smell of ozone and a sharp, acid smell I couldn't identity filled my nose, making me cough.

And then suddenly it all vanished.

I looked up and saw that Darth Sidious now stood before me. Only . . . Only it wasn't him. His eyes were still the cold ocean-grey of Drakale, and shadows still clung to him.

As suspicion started trickling into my mind, he chuckled coldly.

"So you have guessed," he said, his voice a horrible mix of Darth Sidious's cold, condescending voice and Drakale's oily, calculating tone. "I am but a spirit now, and can only take my true form here, in my home, the netherworld of the Force. But even that drains me. Now I take the form of mortals."

I hissed. I hated Darth Sidious, but to be manipulated by Drakale was a fate I would wish upon no one – not even him. "You are despicable."

"Much as I despise it, it is necessary," he said calmly. He clapped, and suddenly the shadows started congregating in front of me. They darkened in the center momentarily before clearing.

When I saw the images, my heart jumped into my throat.

One showed my Master, lying unconscious on the floor the same way I had found Obi-Wan. Vereora stood nearby, her face filled with malicious glee and her lightsaber drawn and waiting in her hand.

The other showed Obi-Wan, still unconscious. Over him stood Darth Maul, who was standing silently with his lightsaber also drawn.

At this, I started. _I sedated him! Shouldn't the potion still work?_ I reached for the bottle, but the second I touched it, it turned to ash and crumpled away.

Sidious/Drakale laughed coldly. "Nice try. But here in the netherworld of the Force, the tools of a Walker no longer work. Including that potion of yours. You come in with exactly what you have, Kya Ranor – you and your lightsaber and the Force. No more, no less."

I watched in horror as Darth Maul and Vereora approached my lover and my Master with deliberate footsteps. _Please, wake up!_ I thought desperately.

But they didn't.

I finally cracked when both Sith activated their lightsabers.

"Stop it, please!" I begged. "Let them go!"

He grinned. "It'll cost you, little sister, oh, how it will cost you."

"Let them go!"

He laughed again. "So refreshing to hear a Walker begging me. As you wish." He snapped his fingers, and I saw them both start awake. Then they leaped away from their attacker and drew their lightsabers.

I heard a whisper of movement and whirled to face Sidious/Drakale. But halfway through my whirl, pain exploded in me. I stumbled and fell as I had before, but this time one thing was different.

Instead of feeling like my blood was on fire as pain crackled across my heart, this time I felt as though my heart was on fire.

Dimly, I heard chanting. The words chilled me to the very bone as they sank into my skin, and the pain intensified. Colors blended as my vision grew hazy. Sounds grew distorted as my hearing faded and returned and then faded again, making the eerie chanting seem even eerier.

And then everything cleared.

I gasped as my limbs suddenly jerked, and I shot straight up. Then I slammed against a wall, and streams of icy shadow trailed across my hands and boots, effectively binding me to the wall – which I could swear wasn't there a minute ago.

I shook my head and struggled, but the shadow . . . well, whatever they were, they were stronger than me.

Drakale/Sidious laughed again. Then I froze as his mind invaded mine and his voice echoed in my mind.

_You can't free yourself. Not during this._ His tone become even smugger, if that was possible._ You are weak, Kya Ranor, oh so _weak_. With this energy, I will finally have the power to destroy that meddlesome Kenobi once and for all._

His horrible blue-grey-tainted-with-Sith-yellow eyes met mine and sent an electric shock coursing through me. I froze under his gaze, all thoughts fleeing from my mind, all feeling fleeing from my body. I couldn't escape it. It was like I was a person that he was stepping on and laughing at and mocking.

He laughed.

_The perfect betrayal, don't you agree? For it will be your energy, your will, your Summons, that brings forth the most terrible creature the Force ever brought to life. And that creature will tear Kenobi from existence – from _all_ existence – forever._

_You, Kya Ranor, will be the key that seals the door on the destruction of Obi-Wan Kenobi._


	53. Chapter 51

_**Chapter Fifty-One**_

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
"Let me go!" I shouted.

The chanting suddenly stopped, and he stretched out a pale, wrinkled hand towards me. Streams of faintly glowing silver . . . _something_ left me and sped towards him.

As they did, I gasped and sagged, suddenly feeling overwhelmed and exhausted. _It's energy!_ I realized in horror. _He's draining me of energy!_

"That's right," he said smugly as silver energy coiled around him, highlighting the shadows that made his outline fuzzy. "It's energy. It's the last payment needed to call up an old friend of ours. One I'm sure you'll enjoy meeting."

I tried to open my mouth, to shout, to say something, anything.

But then he said a single word, and everything fled from my mind.

It was a single word, but the second he said it, all feeling and sensation and thought fled from me. I became utterly and totally numb.

This word – This _name_ – It was the worst possible thing he could ever summon.

And he had summoned it.

The shadows that formed my bindings suddenly vanished, and I fell to the ground. As I pushed myself up, I noticed with horror how the ground was suddenly starting to bubble. Dark liquid that looked a lot like blood was bubbling up from the ground. The silver mist hissed and dissipated immediately as the liquid spread.

I had no doubt that Drakale/Sidious had successfully summoned my darkest nightmare.

Dark energy blazed around it suddenly, so that all of the liquid was rimmed in a faintly glowing outline that was neither natural nor friendly. The aura of it was dark and ancient and angry and potent, and every single instinct I had screamed at me to get away.

The bubbling suddenly sprouted upwards like a geyser and cold, dark, unnatural, deep laughter echoed.

_Free, at last!_ boomed the . . . well, whatever it was. _Free to take vengeance!_

I froze as all the dark power focused on me. The power was astonishing; it ripped past my shields as one bats away flies.

It brutally yanked out a memory from my mind – no, two memories. One where I stood on a Naboo balcony, Obi-Wan's arms wrapped lovingly around my waist as I relaxed against him. And another, where I stood silently in front of the Council, my Master's hand resting comfortably on my shoulder.

I tried to shield them, to take them back, because something in me knew that whatever this creature intended, it wouldn't be good.

But it was too late. The creature laughed again and sank through the ground, vanishing.

I stared where it had gone.

_Oh, this can't be good._

It didn't help things when Drakale/Sidious snapped his fingers and I saw both my Master and my lover start awake . . . and find themselves with Darth Maul and Vereora standing over them.

~ _Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
The first thing I saw when I woke up made me start so bad that I nearly impaled myself on the red lightsaber.

After all, it's not every day you wake up and find a Sith Lord you thought was knocked out and dealt by your lover with standing over with an activated lightsaber at your throat.

As it was, my mind recovered seconds later. I kicked out and made Darth Maul stumble enough so that I was able to roll away from him and to my feet, grabbing for and activating my lightsaber. I sank into a defensive position, preparing to fight. I hadn't fared so well last time, but I was sure with the Force I would be okay.

Or, at least, I wouldn't be sliced to ribbons too fast.

But when I reached for the Force – _it wasn't there_.

I nearly dropped my lightsaber. The comforting presence of the Force that I had lived with and used and sensed all my life was simply . . . _gone_. And not the gone of Force-inhibitors and Force-suppressors, when I could sense it beyond my reach and could only wait patiently for the suppressant to wear off.

No, this _gone_ was the gone gone.

It simply wasn't there, as if it didn't exist . . . or as if I was no longer Force-sensitive.

Neither thought was really that pleasant. And I had the slight problem that was now a big problem of a fully-trained Sith Lord waiting to duel me.

Except that right now the "duel" was looking more like an outright "slaughter". Without the Force, I wasn't going to be that much of a problem to a Sith. Oh, I could fight, but I wasn't going to last that long.

Then Maul took a step forward, his teeth bared in a challenging smile, and I noticed something odd.

His step was almost . . . shaky. Unsure. Deprived of the fluid and powerful grace he had demonstrated on Naboo during the duel there.

_He cannot sense the Force either_, I realized with a start. _What in blazes is going on?_

While it would make things easier that neither of us could use the Force to retaliate or gain the advantage, it was also kind of worrying. I knew that there was no transmitter, no collar, no suppressant in or on me – yet why couldn't I sense the Force?

And then Maul leapt at me, teeth bared in excitement, eyes fierce, one end of his lightsaber already whirling in a blow that could dissect my head from my shoulders in a single swoop.

I ducked underneath and parried the other end as it too came around. The next few minutes were a blur as we traded blows and punches and kicks. It seemed that without the Force, the duel became much more savage as we resorted to more uncivilized routes to victory.

Maul swiped at my torso, and I blocked it – and then he whirled around punched me straight in the jaw, knocking me back. At the same time, he dropped into an ankle-sweep and I fell rather ungracefully, barely bringing my blade up in time to block the blow he leaned into, ready to plunge the red blade into my heart.

I kicked upwards, making him stumble back, and flipped myself up to land on my feet.

Or, at least, that was my intention.

Midway through the flip, something grabbed my arms and boots. Instead of landing safely in a defensive stance, I slammed hard into a wall I could have sworn wasn't there before.

My lightsaber dropped and rolled away, deactivated.

Panting, I looked at Maul, who was approaching with deliberate slowness. I struggled against whatever held me, but they did not budge.

It was then that I finally looked down at the cuffs and nearly had a heart attack.

The bindings that held me weren't cuffs.

No, they were wriggling, slimy tentacles of some dark liquid that looked suspiciously like blood. As I watched, they expanded to cover both of my hands and swallowed all of my boots. They seemingly had no source – they were just random springs of some dark liquid that restrained me.

I looked back at Maul just in time for him to set his blade against my neck.

But he just stood there. He didn't follow through and burn a hole through my heart or separate my head from my shoulders. He just stood there, the heat of the blade against my neck making me stiffen, and waited.

It made me wonder what he was waiting for.

~ _Master Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
The first thing I became aware of when I returned to consciousness was the sound of an activated lightsaber hovering right above my chest.

In a flash, I kicked upwards slightly behind where the humming ended, and I heard a grunt of pain as my kick connected with the holder of the lightsaber. I transformed the kick into a whirling, rising movement that flipped me up and away. By the time I'd landed on my feet, my eyes were open and my own lightsaber was activated in my hand.

The woman rubbed at her stomach and snarled at me. She was wearing an opaque bodysuit of the likes I'd never seen before, one that clung to her figure and shimmered faintly. Her dark eyes burned into me, shining with anger and hatred.

If that wasn't telling enough that she was a dark Force-user, then the fact that she was holding a red lightsaber sealed it.

_By all the stars, how many Sith _are_ there?_ I thought in exasperation. _And why do they keep popping up at the most random and unfortunate of times?_

There were only supposed to be two – Sidious and . . . Vader. Who was this woman?

"Who are you?" I demanded.

The woman bared her teeth. "Your worst enemy, Obi-Wan Kenobi, though not your worst nightmare." She chuckled darkly, stepping forward. "Your worst nightmare awaits you, though."

I risked a quickly glance around, but I didn't see Kya, and that concerned me. "Where is my Padawan? What have you done to her?"

The woman growled. "Meddlesome girl, that apprentice of yours," she hissed. "Always sticking her nose in too far where it doesn't belong. But you needn't worry – she'll be dead in a few moments anyways. As will you, and her annoying little mate."

I frowned. _Mate?_ Not only did that term sound rather crude, but since when did my apprentice have one anyways?

She cackled. "So she hasn't told you everything, has she? Like about the life-bond she shares – or the boy she's fallen in love with."

Surprise filled me. _In love? Kya?_ I was sorely tempted to deny that. Kya was very determined to follow the Jedi path – why would she risk it for love?

"I don't know who you are, but I can warn you that killing me is a far greater dead that you cannot accomplish," I said finally, infusing my voice with calm and authority. "You can lie, of course, and try to fight. Or you can surrender to me."

"Sith never surrender," the woman ground out. "As to your death – hah! Let's see how confident you are . . . now!"

She sprang at me, eyes wild with excitement, her blade a red blur in the air.

I relaxed into the Force, closing my eyes and calming myself, wearily preparing myself for battle –

Only to suddenly realize that the Force wasn't there.

My eyes flashed open and I whirled to the side barely in time to avoid being skewered by the woman. I barely lifted my lightsaber in time to parry the next three blows. I could hold my own, yes, but the absence of the Force bothered me. For all my life, in all of my battles, the Force had guided my hand.

Now, without it, judging where to strike and how far to strike was a little tricky. I had handled my lightsaber long enough to be able to wield it effectively and safely even without the Force, but I didn't fancy accidentally slicing the woman's arm off.

Or my own head.

My opening came after ten minutes of fierce blows, where I'd stayed entirely on the defensive to judge her reactions and how she moved in order to find a weakness. She lunged forward, in a move that – were I not a Jedi and had I not a lightsaber – would have burned a hole right through my chest and sentenced me to a slow, painful death much the same as how Qui-Gon, my old Master, had died.

As it was, I simply sidestepped and brought my blade down cleanly through her hilt.

When she tossed the sparking remnants aside and lunged for me again, I deactivated my lightsaber and flipped over her head. Rolling when I hit the ground to absorb the shock, I stood back up and looked calmly at her furious face.

"My offer of surrendering is still open," I said blandly.

"Die, Jedi dog!" she hissed.

I sighed. As I gathered myself to jump again and try to find a way out, something grabbed me, startling me and yanking me back into a wall. I slammed into it so hard that stars danced in front of my eyes and I dropped my lightsaber.

Shaking my head to clear it, I looked at whatever was binding me – and shock coursed through my veins.

A writhing mass of dark liquid tentacles encased my hands and boots, preventing me from moving. They looked weak, all right; but even when I put all my strength behind kicking out, my foot didn't budge.

Actually, I felt weaker, as if by simply being encased by this . . . _thing_, I was losing energy – losing life.

I heard the sound of a lightsaber being activated, and my head snapped back up just in time to see the woman place my own lightsaber against my neck.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I watched the scenes before me with dawning horror as Vereora and Maul set lightsabers against the throats of my lover and my Master. "No," I whispered. "No!"

It didn't make any sense. Both my lover and my Master were skilled duelists who had conquered more powerful foes. I didn't understand how they could have been so easily defeated, why they had faltered during their respective duels.

"They cannot use the Force," Drakale/Sidious said suddenly. "Only Walkers can. Jedi and lesser beings cannot touch it when they enter the netherworld of the Force."

I leaped to my feet. "What do you want from me?" I demanded harshly. "Why are you going to such extremes?"

He eyed me calmly through his horrible blue-grey-tainted-with-yellow eyes. "I need your willing cooperation. And you Jedi are so . . . temperamental. I find that the only way to assure cooperation – or to even talk to you, really – is to hold hostage those close to you."

Rage poured into me, and he clicked his tongue disapprovingly.

"Cool your rage, little girl," he chided. "Follow that Jedi mumbo-jumbo that your Master taught you."

"Let them go," I snarled. "Leave them out of this."

"Um . . . no. I offer you a choice, Kya Ranor, one that should consider well." He paused and leaned forward, his eyes glittering eagerly. "Join the dark side of the Force, Jedi."

My response was out of my mouth the second he stopped speaking. "Never!" I shouted. _I will _never_ betray my lover or my Master or the Jedi. Never._

He sighed theatrically, shaking his head as though my response pained him as much as it amused him. "The Jedi Order forbids attachment. How will you tell your Master that you have given your heart away?"

Now I hesitated. As much as I didn't want to admit it, he had a point – a very valid point, most unfortunately. How _could_ I tell him? How could I tell the Master who had given me so much that I had strayed so far from the Jedi path?

He immediately pressed his advantage. "Only I have the power to save him from assimilation. Who means more to you, Jedi – your Master or your lover?"

My heart twisted and I looked back at the images. _My lover or my Master._ The choice was the worst choice I had ever faced. And it even worse due to the fact that I knew even if I managed to save one, the other would still . . . would still . . .

_Wait a moment_, I thought. _Even if I saved one or the other, I would still lose them both. Assimilation would destroy both of them._ I glanced swiftly at Drakale/Sidious. _Even his power cannot stop assimilation once it has begun fully, nor reverse it once it is done._

I closed my eyes and opened myself fully to the Force for the first time since entering the netherworld of the Force. It poured into me, filling me with power and wisdom. And along with the latter came the knowledge, then, of what I had to do.

I had to power to stop Maul and Vereora. I had the power to send my lover and my Master back to their universes and save them both. I had the power to kill Drakale and Sidious and take upon the duty of the Chosen One for myself. I had the power to all of this – and more, if I so wished.

But I did not have the right.

_The ending of the Sith and the balancing of the Force is the duty and the right of the Chosen One alone._

One simple sentence whispered to me by the Force. Just one simple sentence. But it was enough to tell me what had to be done.

A sad smile twisted my lips. _To come so far doing everything I could – and yet now I find out the simple truth of the order of Walkers. We are not heroes. _I_ am not the hero._

_Anakin Skywalker is._

"Name your choice, Jedi!"

I opened my eyes. Calm filled me as the Force swirled around me, silver mist coiling around me to beat back the shadows surrounding Drakale/Sidious. I turned to face him, confident in the decision I was about to make – the one that could very well backfire on me as much as it could possibly save all of us.

"I choose neither," I said softly, confidently. "But I have yet to make my final Summons."

I had spent my first Summons to send Siri home, where she was no longer in danger. And my second Summons had been used by Drakale to Summon my worst enemy, who now bound my lover and my Master against the wall, rendering them helpless. But children of the Force like me were allowed _three_ Summons, not two.

In short, I had one last card to play against Drakale, and the Force was telling me that now was the time to use it.

His eyes widened in surprise. "What?"

I slammed my hand down in a fluid movement that ended in me kneeling with one palm flat against the ground. In that one instant, I called all of my power to me and released it with one single sentence.

"I, Kya Ranor, daughter of the order of Walkers, Summons to me Anakin Skywalker, Chosen One of the Jedi Order!"

Silver light exploded all around me, making Drakale/Sidious shriek and leap backwards as the light pushed away the coiling shadows. The Force hummed with energy as my Summons began, and the air began rippling with explosive force.

And then, with one final burst of light, it was over.

Anakin Skywalker appeared in front of me.


	54. Chapter 52

Before everyone starts getting confused, Kya summoned the Anakin from the universe she got dumped into – the nine-year-old Anakin that I mentioned would be coming back to play a big part. And here's the big part.

Also, I'm getting tired to typing in "Drakale/Sidious" every time, so now he'll simply be Drakale. If there are any questions, Drakale possessed Sidious, imposing his spirit upon Sidious's.

* * *

**_Chapter Fifty-Two_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
Anakin Skywalker stood in front of me. Silver light made his outline glimmer faintly, the same way the dark energy made the outline of Drakale fuzzy. He looked so young that he looked out of place.

And in a way, he kind of was. The confrontation between Sidious and Anakin wasn't supposed to take place until Anakin was in mid-forties – but now circumstances would have it be that the confrontation was taking place now – when Anakin was merely nine years old.

"Hello, Anakin," I said wearily, standing. The energy needed to summon someone had taken a lot more out of me than I'd expected.

"Kya?" Anakin asked nervously. "What's going on?"

I heard a snap of fingers from Drakale, and the shadows rushed forward to cloud over the images of my lover and my Master, shielding them from Anakin's view.

Anakin whirled around, alarmed, as Drakale stepped into the light.

I crossed my arms sourly. "Stay out of this, Drakale."

"No. Now that you've brought the boy here, I might as well address his . . . options," Drakale said, his voice turning smooth and oily and persuasive.

"What options? Who are you? What are you talking about?" Anakin demanded, the questions flowing from his mouth like water flows down a stream.

"Patience, my apprentice, patience," Drakale crooned, holding up a hand.

"You're not my Master!" Anakin fired back. "Don't 'patience' me! Tell me the truth!"

Inwardly, I smiled. _So, Anakin's natural tendency towards rebelling against orders finally found its use._ I was also glad at Anakin's instant defense of Qui-Gon; that too was a good sign.

Drakale glared at me. Obviously, he had sensed my amusement.

But he covered the glare instantly. "I call you that because when you see what I have to offer, I am willing to extend the offer for you to become my apprentice," he said smoothly.

Anakin snorted. "I already have a Master. And a good one. One of the best in the Jedi Order. Why do I want some old creep like you?"

Drakale's eyes flashed in anger, and Anakin cringed as Drakale allowed the dark Sith yellow to taint his blue-grey eyes. Then, fast as lightning, Drakale reached out and shoved in the Force, creating a powerful shock wave that threatened to knock Anakin head over heels.

I couldn't allow that.

I waved my own hand, and the shock wave of shadows slammed into a wall of silver mist and stopped short. As soon as it made contact, the shadows hissed and retreated away while the silver mist coiled protectively around the boy.

"Don't even think of it, Drakale," I warned, taking a step in his direction. "You know the mandate of the Walkers. And you know that I will follow it."

Drakale growled something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like a curse. "You were always a meddlesome Jedi," he spat finally.

"Yes," I agreed calmly. "And now I am a meddlesome Walker. I see little difference; my mandate is unchanged."

Anakin started, and the movement caused Drakale to focus on the boy once more. I folded my hands into the sleeves of my robes calmly. This was Anakin's choice to make right now. While I would protect him and possibly even plead with him should Drakale resort to trickery, I would not participate otherwise.

I was not the hero, after all.

"I am offering you the chance of a lifetime," Drakale was saying to Anakin. "The chance to do all you've wanted and more. You can free your mother. You can save her from a horrible death that awaits her."

A trace of longing entered Anakin's face, and I knew he was thinking about his mother. And then horror struck when Drakale's words rang home.

"Death? She's going to _die_?" Anakin whirled to me. "You knew this? Why can't you save her?"

I shook my head sadly. "She is not mine to save, Anakin. She is your mother."

"I'm not strong enough. Please, Kya!" Anakin begged.

"She won't do it," Drakale hissed. "No Jedi would. They would only hide behind their precious Jedi Code, forbidding love, forbidding attachment. She will only tell you to let go, that all things die."

"Save her!" Anakin pleaded.

I didn't answer. I wouldn't, even though I wished with all my heart that I could. But the Force was coiling around me, sealing my throat and blocking the words that rose, words of comfort and wisdom. Words that would tell Anakin everything he needed to know.

Words that would make him understand that in the end, _he_ was the only person who could save his mother.

Anakin's face darkened at my silence. He turned away coldly. "Perhaps . . . Perhaps you're right," he said to Drakale.

I could only stare incredulously. _How did he convince Anakin that fast?_

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
The Force tugged at me, speaking of power unknown. Power I had carried with me all of my life. Power I had only begun to taste under the training of Qui-Gon Jinn. Power that I knew, with training and experience, would one day be all mine.

But now here was the opportunity to take it all, to utilize everything.

To make things right.

"Anakin, please, listen to – " Kya began pleadingly, stepping towards me with one hand reaching for me.

I whirled on her and sent her flying back with a powerful Force shove. "You won't save my mother, even though I begged! I pleaded! Now _I_ will save her."

Kya gasped in pain as she crumpled to the ground. Blood began to trickle from a wound I couldn't see. "I can't save her," she said breathlessly, her breaths coming in uneven pants now. "I can't."

I growled.

"Use your anger!" Drakale said encouragingly. "Kill the liar!"

Kya's eyes flashed, and suddenly she seemed taller than both of us, filled with a greatness that surpassed even my own. "I do not speak lies, traitor," she said, her every words ringing in my ears with power. "No true Walker ever lies."

"But you do not tell the truth either!" Drakale shot back.

"He already knows the truth!" Kya turned to me, her eyes pleading with me. "You have but to look inside of yourself, Anakin, and you will understand!"

"You can become the most powerful Jedi in existence. You can marry Padmé. You can rule the galaxy," Drakale said encouragingly to me. "Don't listen to her."

"Anakin, just think! Use the Force! Look inside of yourself!"

I reached out to the Force and let it fill me. My perceptions blurred momentarily . . . and then they cleared. The world became a beautiful crystal, glowing scene, glittering with the Force that swirling around me, through me, in me.

All I had to do was reach out and use it.

In Drakale I sensed his true purpose – to use me, and then dispose of me. In Kya . . . Kya too had an ulterior motive. But I couldn't sense it. It was full of emotion, full of power – it was something that drove her . . . and it did not seem like the guidance and motivation came from the Force.

"Liar!" In a blur of movement that I didn't even recognize, my hand came up and closed into a fist. "You're with him! You brought him here to kill me!"

The Force responded instantly, and the silver mist swirling around Kya hissed and vanished as shadows settled around her throat. She gasped and choked, her hands flying upwards – but she was injured, tired, and under pressure. She may have had greater training and more power, but right now it was all useless.

I whirled on Drakale and sent him flying back too, to crash into the walls nearby. My training lightsaber – the same one that Qui-Gon had given me – appeared in my hand as shadows closed over Drakale, pining and binding him in place.

I stood over my enemy and activated the blade.

I could kill him.

I could end his life.

I could bring an end to the evil that he was.

All I had to do was bring my blade down and burn a hole right through his heart.

"Stop!" he wheezed.

He snapped his fingers, and a shimmering image of my mother appeared. She was tied to some sort of structure . . . and she was dying. Blood – old and new – was all over her. Her eyes were swollen, her back covered in injuries.

"Mom!" Against my will, I hesitated. She was so close . . . and she _needed_ me. . .

"I can save her," Drakale panted. "I can show _you_ how to _save_ her from this. I can give you everything you want."

I paused.

And then there was a thunderbolt through the room. A powerful tidal wave swept through the room, roaring past my barriers like a desert storm punches holes in people stupid enough to wander during one. The Force sang with power, a power that was an ancient as it was unnatural.

The power jolted me from my trance, and the shimmering hologram paled as Drakale's control wavered and showed its true nature as a fake.

I ignited my blade again. "_You're_ the liar." I raised the blade high, ready to plunge it into him. "And now you will die."

And then the Force screamed, and another wave swept through the room, a thousand – no, a _million_ times stronger than the last.

Kya's voice spoke in my mind, strong, unyielding, powerful – and full of compassion.

_No, Anakin. Killing someone in hate will only make you as bad as them._

"He deserves it!" I tried to protest.

_Who are we to say who deserves and who does not deserve what fate and the Force has in store? _

The words rang true, touching an ancient wisdom that rose in my body from a place I hadn't even known existed.

I turned off my blade.

"I will never join the dark side. I am a Jedi." I took a step back. "You've failed, Lord Drakale."

I expected him to start screaming. I expected him to summon up more images of the ones I loved to try and bargain with me. At the very least, I expected him to lash out at me with lightning and the Force.

He did none of these things.

He started screaming, writhing on the ground as if _he_ were the one being electrocuted. Darkness bubbled around him as light began to shine – brilliant, powerful, _good_ light that outshone even the darkest shadows in the room.

Finally, with one last scream, one last bubbling of darkness, one last blast of light – and Drakale was gone.


	55. Chapter 53

**_Chapter Fifty-Three_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
After Drakale vanished, the darkness disappeared from the Force. The shadows blended with the silver mist until they no longer existed. The three images he'd used to taunt us – the one of my lover, the one of my Master, and the one of Shmi – all shimmered faintly before dissipating as well.

And I breathed a sigh of relief.

_The prophecy is fulfilled. Anakin has done it._

I looked down at my wrist just in time to see the last two strands emit a single pulse of light before vanishing completely. I smiled.

_And my tasks are done._

I heard the faint sound of bubbling, and my head snapped up. In a flash, I was on my feet. In the next second, I had darted in front of Anakin.

Whatever was coming was ancient and powerful – and it was _my_ job to deal with it, not his.

The bubbling shot upwards in the geyser of dark liquid once more, but this time it did not drain away. This time it coalesced into a form of writhing darkness that glowed with a dark light. This time the silver mist retreated entirely from it, forming a perimeter that was barren of mist and only had the tentacles present.

And this time, a mind touched my own as a dark, deep voice emanated from the center of the darkness.

_So, you are the Walker._ The voice was intelligent, possessing the experience and knowledge gained over more than a thousand generations spent in the shadows. Power lined every syllable – power that was really only a slim fraction of what this creature could truly bring to bear.

I inclined my head. "Yes, Mighty One." The title flowed off my tongue easily, and I knew the Force was guiding me once more.

_The last, if Drakale was correct._

"He is."

_I see._

"The bargain collapsed, didn't it?" That would explain why Drakale had failed. "He promised you Anakin Skywalker in return?"

The creature hissed. _Yes. I asked for blood, blood that he could not secure._

I understand at once. Children of the Force could not forcibly take the blood of other children of the Force. By vowing such a promise, he had, in effect, wagered his soul on the vague possibility that Anakin might turn to the dark side – and then be sacrificed to this creature. So when Anakin had turned against him, had vowed never to join the dark side, the bargain had collapsed – and such vows as the one made by Drakale were not taken lightly.

He was now paying the price for wagering his soul on the fall of Anakin to the dark side.

"Then he was more foolish than I thought. All of us know the Rules governing the children of the Force."

_Apparently, he misjudged them. And I misjudged you. . . You are very strong Walker for one so young. You are a credit to the order you have chosen to serve._

I managed a small smile. "The one I was born to serve or the one I was trained to serve?"

_Both and neither. You are neither one nor the other. You are not yet a true Walker, but you are more than a true Jedi._

I inclined my head again. "Then your comment is received favorably."

The creature hissed again, but this time in amusement. _Drakale was right to fear you._

"He feared me?"

_He feared you, yes. You are stronger than you know. Your mate is as well._

Now I frowned. "Excuse me?"

_Your mate. The one you call Obi-Wan Kenobi._ The creature shifted restlessly, and I felt its attention begin to leave me. _My bargain is unpaid, once more, and so I must return to where I came from._

"Mighty One, might I say something?"

Its attention returned to me full force. _You may._

I stepped towards him. "We are the only ones left of our kind. I do not wish to destroy you or even confront you. Had not Drakale forced our hands, I would have left you in peace."

_As I would have you._

"Yes. Could we not continue, then, to live in peace?"

I felt the creature consider it as it sent a probe to sweep through my mind. I dropped my barriers, letting it search through everything I had – memories, feelings, thoughts.

_I do not want another war_, I told the creature, showing it the fear and anger and pain war had burdened me with – and the innocence it had caused me to lose. _Please. I do not wish to fight._

The creature paused on another memory – the one I treasured the most. It was the one of when Obi-Wan had kissed me again, and we had finally decided to toss away everything to fall in love.

The creature abruptly withdrew. _You speak the truth. You do not wish war._

"I would not lie."

_So I see. It seems I must reevaluate my opinion about your kind._

"Are you agreed?"

_Yes. So long as you keep your word, I shall keep mine._

I bowed then, giving the creature the amount of respect I'd give to an equal in my standing and power.

I felt the creature's approval. _I return to you your mate and your Master. Farewell, Kya Ranor, daughter of the Force._

~ _Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
The shadows suddenly froze, stopping mid-way through their continuous wriggle that made such an effective bind against me. Moments later, they retreated over my hands and vanished into the wall, leaving me to fall to the ground.

I looked up just in time to see Maul stagger backwards. His yellow eyes went wide and unfocused as his lightsaber fell from his limp hand. Moments later, he screamed suddenly – and went _poof_, vanishing entirely.

And I stared, utterly confused. _Okay, what in blazes just happened?_

All I knew was rather unhelpful. I was in some weird place where I was separated from Kya, couldn't reach the Force, and had nearly died at the hands of a Sith Lord – who had now conveniently vanished.

Bending over, I scooped up my own lightsaber and reattached it to my belt before pivoting to look all around.

The room wasn't nearly as forbidding as I had thought. Silver mist gleamed everywhere. Not regular grey, mind you. Actual _silver_ colored mist that seemed unnatural and significant – and it seemed to like me.

It coiled around me, gentle and soft and comforting, before suddenly whirling around me like a tornado – and I was in the eye of it. The mist became so thick that the light vanished, even though the mist glowed with its own strange light. Then it rushed at me, coiling around me so tightly that it felt like a cocoon of fibers.

And then, all of a sudden, the mist vanished.

I fell to the ground, disoriented, halting my total descent to the floor only by reaching out blindly with my hands.

I heard footsteps – rapid ones, too – and then suddenly hands touched my shoulders. Calm and power flowed from where the hands touched me, giving me a sense of relief and strength.

I looked up into the brilliant sapphire eyes of my love.

Her face was shadowed with worry as she gazed at me. Her eyes were swirling with a whirlwind of emotions that flashed through her eyes so quickly I could not identify them.

But right now that didn't concern me.

She was safe. That was all that mattered.

I seized Kya in my arms, pulling her against me so quickly that I heard her gasp softly. But she didn't protest; on the contrary, she buried her face in my chest, her hands tightening as they wound themselves in my tunic. I felt a shudder run through her slender frame and my arms tightened around her.

"Obi-Wan." Her voice was soft, almost fragile, as she breathed my name out. Worry and love were mixed into her voice so much that I couldn't tell where one started and the other began.

I sighed. "I'm right here," I assured her.

She pulled away, but only slightly – only enough so that our eyes could meet.

"I was so worried. Maul – "

" – is gone," I finished for her, stroking her hair. "He disappeared. He didn't hurt me."

She sighed as well, her face relaxing somewhat. I leaned forward, intending to kiss her on the forehead and reassure her that we were both safe, but she shifted slightly, and I ended up kissing her lips instead.

I didn't really mind, though.

And then a slight cough interrupted us.

I looked up as Kya's head snapped around, her hair brushing against my chin. When I saw the man standing there, my arms tightened around Kya unconsciously as she stiffened.

Because the man standing there was her Master – the future version of me – Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

And he did not look happy.

~ _Master Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
When the silver tornado vanished and fell from me, I stepped forward – and then I stopped in complete astonishment.

The first reason was more . . . well, confusing. A young boy stood not far from me, dressed in Jedi clothes and sporting a Padawan haircut and braid. He whirled around as my eyes fell upon him, and my eyes widened.

It was Anakin.

Well, sort of.

Only, he was nine years old. At least, I could have sworn he was nine years old. He looked exactly as I remembered him from Tatooine and Naboo almost thirteen long years ago – inquisitive light blue eyes, dark blond hair, innocent and open expression.

The boy stared at me, curious yet wary. That surprised me. My Jedi robes were exactly that – I wasn't exactly hiding my identity.

I forced myself to turn my eyes away from the boy – and this time, my jaw dropped open.

My apprentice was kneeling on the ground in front of another Padawan – the young male one that I'd seen in the Temple. That time, he had taken her hands and I'd sensed the Force swirl around him. I hadn't thought much of it then.

Now . . . Now, I was kicking myself inwardly for not paying more attention to the warning signs.

Because the other Padawan leaned forward and they kissed.

I was stunned. My apprentice – my shy, powerful, impulsive, devoted apprentice – was _kissing_ a fellow Padawan. And not a friendly peck on the lips either. A real, passionate kiss that spoke volumes to me about her feelings for the boy.

Feelings, apparently, that the boy shared.

I could see it in the way his arms were wrapped so tightly around her, how he offered her security, how he pulled her against him. I could see it in Kya's posture – how she leaned into him trustingly, how her hands rested on his shoulders, how she returned the kiss with just as much passion as him.

I let out a long breath and squared my shoulders. My apprentice was like a daughter to me, but she was still my apprentice first. _Kya_ was still a Jedi first.

In other words, I dreaded – no, _hated_ the fact that now I needed to break her heart. But it would have to be done, for Kya could not be a Jedi and have such a powerful attachment.

I cleared my throat, and the Padawans started. The boy's head came up instantly, and I felt the same familiar shock course through me when his intense blue-green eyes – the same color as mine – locked onto my own. Kya turned in his arms, and she inhaled sharply, stiffening.

I crossed my arms. "What is this?" I asked softly, lacing each word with authority.

The boy stood slowly, his gaze never wavering. Kya straightened as well, and the moment she did, the boy put his arm around her, drawing her close to him.

Then the boy cocked his head and recognition entered his eyes. "Master Kenobi," he said. "You are Kya's Master."

I blinked. "Yes. And you are?"

The boy's chin came up defiantly. "My name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. I am the apprentice of Qui-Gon Jinn."

_What?_ But before I could speak, slowly, memories began to return. I remembered Kya introducing this . . . this one to me, and how surprise had filled me, and how I had made to ask questions before the darkness had overtaken us all.

"Who are you?" Anakin asked warily.

Kya slipped out from the other Padawan's grasp and took Anakin's hand. "This is Anakin Skywalker, Master," she said softly. Her sapphire eyes locked onto mine, filled with an emotion I didn't recognize. "The boy you remember – except he is the Chosen One now."

"You need to choose, Kya," I said sharply, striding forwards. "The Jedi will not tolerate attachments. You know the Code."

Kya stiffened again, but the other Padawan spoke first.

"Do not judge her yet, Master Kenobi," he snapped, his eyes glinting with a fierce light. "And do not force your opinions on her."

"I am not forcing her to do anything; I am merely reminding her of her duty – and her commitment to the Jedi."

He sighed irritably in a way that eerily reminded me of myself. "Kya and I have a life-bond. She had no choice – literally. You have taught her all her life to follow the will of the Force; do you take that back now?"

"Attachment is against the Jedi Code!"

"The Code is supposed to represent the will of the Force!" he shot back, undaunted. "Are life-bonds against the will of the Force?"

The words finally sunk in. I stepped back, as stunned as though my Padawan had hit me. "A life-bond?" I breathed, looking from him to Kya. "A _life-bond_?"

She nodded. "Yes," she said with a sigh. The other Padawan stepped to her side, taking her hand gently – but the determined expression on his face told me that his gentleness was towards her and her alone.

"Both of you will be expelled from the Jedi Order," I warned.

"What Order?" the other Padawan demanded. "I have seen the Temple; I have faced the clones. What of Order is left but scattered remnants? Why can you not accept this?"

My hands clenched into fists and I felt tears well up in my eyes. _So . . . she has chosen._ There could be no doubt, no mistake. Kya had chosen love now, love over her duty, over her life as a Jedi. There could be no going back now.

But before I could tell her that, could plead with my last apprentice to rethink her decision, the silver mist suddenly blazed with a brilliant light. I threw my hands up, blinded and disoriented. The Force suddenly returned to me with overwhelming speed – too overwhelming, actually.

I fell, stunned. My last thought before darkness took me was one of sorrow: _Now I have seen not one but two apprentices under my wing fall to love. Who will I lose next?_

~ _???_ ~  
I lowered my hand, and the whirlwind of brilliantly glowing specks faded. At a wave of my hand, the silver mist cleared as the brilliant glow died down.

Four people lay on the ground now, all unconscious.

I knelt by the first – the one the mortals called Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi. His face was pale when compared to the chestnut color of his hair and beard, and worry and war had caused his face to crinkle up in lines that did not become him.

I placed a single finger on his temple and let the Force wash through me to him. He relaxed with a sigh as he fell into a deeper, healing sleep – one that would heal his physical wounds and calm his mind so that he could deal with the emotional wounds he had just endured.

I rose then, and moved on to the boy. The one they called Anakin Skywalker. I smiled at the boy, my brother, as another child of the Force. He looked young and innocent, but in the Force he shone like a star – and he would only become stronger with age.

I placed my hand on his, coaxing him into a deeper sleep as well. He was not injured, but that didn't matter right now.

With a sigh, I moved on.

I looked down at the last two people. The young man – the one they called Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi – was lying on his side. He was tense, or as tense as one could get in sleep. The reason behind that was in his arms – literally.

My daughter lay there, one hand and her head resting against the young man's chest.

For a moment, I just watched her. She was so young, so beautiful, so passionate; full of fire and spirit and power; motivated by loyalty and honor and love.

_But then again_, I reflected, _so too were we all when we began._

I sighed again as I nudged the young man into a deeper sleep.

Then I snapped my fingers shortly, and the silver mist hissed and started glowing as it coiled around my daughter.


	56. Chapter 54

**_Chapter Fifty-Four_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I awakened with a start. For a moment, with my eyes closed, I could believe that I was back on Naboo, just awakening as the sun rose, with my love's arms clasped securely around me.

But that illusion faded quickly.

Opening my eyes, I sat up slowly and looked down at Obi-Wan. His eyes were closed in sleep again – but this time his breathing was deep and regular, as if he really was asleep and not really in danger.

I touched his shoulder lightly. "Obi-Wan, wake up."

Normally, his blue-green eyes would have snapped open right then and there at my touch and voice. Or, if he was in a teasing mood, he might pretend to still be asleep – to lure me into a false sense of security – and then pull me down on top of him and flip us over and laugh at my stunned expression.

But I had no doubt that he was not pretending right now.

I was just about to shake him a little harder and call his name again when a calm female voice echoed across the room.

"Do not fear for him, my child; he is not hurt. He is merely sleeping."

I looked up.

A woman stood not far from us, her outline glowing with faint silver light. She had long golden hair and shining blue eyes. She wore shimmering silver robes very similar to that of the Jedi Order, save, of course, that they were silver. Even her boots and cloak were the same silver color. Only her belt – which was really just a sash, not a true utility belt like mine – was not silver; it was like a glittering ice-like diamond, flashing all types of colors with every little movement.

"Who are you?" I asked warily.

"No one you, my child, should have a reason to fear," she replied.

The appearance – well, the golden hair and blue eyes – clicked suddenly.

"You. You're Lady Elizabeth. The real one," I said in astonishment.

And I meant it. The other one – the one who had spoken to me before – had had the same appearance, but something about this woman . . . There was something _solid_, something _real_ about her appearance that made my doubts fade away.

Lady Elizabeth smiled. "Yes, my child."

"You're a Walker, aren't you?"

"Yes," she said agreeably. She spread her hands. "Come, child. Walk with me for a moment. There are some things we must talk about."

I hesitated, glancing down at my lover.

She understood. "He will be safe," she assured me. "There is nothing now in the Force that will trouble the mate of a Walker."

I slowly rose and walked over to her. We passed a few moments in companionable silence, and I got the feeling that she was waiting for me to speak.

But then Lady Elizabeth stopped walking and said suddenly, "Speak, child. Your mind is undoubtedly filled with questions, and I should like to know them so that I may answer them and lay your mind to rest."

"I have so many, though," I protested. "Who are you? Where are we? What do you mean? What is a Walker? Who am _I_?"

She laughed, a musical sound that was ancient yet friendly. "Let us start at the beginning, then, shall we?" she said with another smile.

"A Walker is, by the barest definition, a child of the Force – commonly mistaken as a Force-sensitive, in mortal terms and in mortal worlds. We are called children of the Force because we seem to be miraculous births, lacking a parent – or parents, in some cases."

"Like Anakin," I interjected.

She nodded. "Yes, child. And like you."

"I had parents."

Lady Elizabeth turned to look me straight in the eye. "Did you? Really?" She paused. "Search your feelings, child. Look inside of you."

I was silent. For some reason, some part of me urged me to listen to hear, whispered that she spoke the truth.

"See?" she asked. "However, we are not quite like the Chosen One. He is a child of Force, but also of a mortal. He is the best of both, you might say. Walkers, on the other hand, are pure manifestations of the Force. We are very strong, and are usually born with a special ability or gift – one that sets us apart."

"You mean my ability to drain energy?"

"Yes."

"What's your special ability, then?"

"Mine, child? Oh, that was many years ago – but my special ability was more mundane than yours."

"What was it?" I pressed.

"The ability to interfere with the senses of others, such as my enemies," she answered solemnly.

I swallowed hard. _And I thought my ability leaned towards the dark side. . ._ "Um . . . to interfere?"

She sighed. "When threatened, I could shut off their eyesight or their hearing or their sense of touch, make them disoriented, unbalanced, confused. When I mastered my ability, I could stop their heart and lungs, if I so wished."

"Oh." I hoped I did not sound as scared as I was.

But Lady Elizabeth sensed it anyways. "You have nothing to fear, child. Our abilities do not work in the netherworld of the Force. Not even the strongest of us can perform that feat."

"Then why can't Jedi use the Force here?" I asked.

"Because of the ancient laws. Jedi don't usually come here – save when they have passed into the void. Therefore, it was expected that only children of the Force come here. It is where we can challenge our foes without disrupting the universes we protect."

"I see. What are the Rules?" I asked.

She sighed deeply. "The Rules were laid out many years ago. They define the combats between the children of the Force; without them, our battles would rage all over the place and be much more destructive."

I threw a cursory glance around. _How much more destructive could my battle with Drakale have gotten?_ "What do they say, exactly?"

"You cannot draw your weapon until the one who summoned you here has. The one who summons everyone here is the commander – they lay down how things will turn out, and they have the right to the first round of Summons."

"I see."

"They were mainly meant for combat against our worst enemy," she continued. "The creature whom you faced is one of them."

"Oh. But I promised it peace."

"It will hopefully keep to that bargain. Those creatures are notorious for ignoring such things. They lust only for blood, because blood leads to power, and power leads to domination, and domination leads to everything else they desire."

I was silent; those words reminded me of something. "That sounds like a Jedi saying. Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate – "

" – hate leads to suffering," she finished.

My jaw dropped. "You were a Jedi?" I exclaimed in surprise.

She smiled, touching the lightsaber at her hip. "Yes, child. The memories your guide shared with you – and the lightsaber – were mine. I was a Jedi, like you. I was born a Walker, but I was trained to be a Jedi. Later, when it came time for me to Choose, I choose the light – the Jedi."

"Choose?"

"Walkers, when they come of age, must Choose to serve either the light or the dark. When they do, a bond is created. For those who Choose the dark, the bond is usually a Master-apprentice bond for a Sith. For those who Choose the light, it is a life-bond to a mate."

I was silent for another moment; her words had brought up yet another question. "Why does everyone refer to Obi-Wan as my 'mate'? That sounds so . . . so . . ."

"Crude?" she supplied.

I nodded.

She shrugged. "I suppose it could be considered such now. But in the beginning of time, it was a worthy title. It refers to someone who matches you perfectly; the other half of your soul; the person who complements you in every way possible. A Walker's mate is a very unique individual, a man or woman bound to a Walker for all eternity. They are the only people that a Walker can confide in, and they are the only ones allowed to interfere in the duels between children of the Force."

She glanced meaningfully at me. "It was your mate's protection that shielded you from Sidious, child, when he tampered with your mind."

"Oh. . . That makes sense . . . I think."

"The creation of mates was meant to protect us, and make us aware of who we were," she explained. "We are very, very powerful – and therefore, we had great weaknesses as well as great strengths. It keeps things in balance. Your mate – your Obi-Wan Kenobi – is your greatest strength and your worst weakness. He will support and protect you when all else fails, and he will be the one person who will always be able to understand you and comfort you when you falter – but should he be harmed, you will feel his pain as though fire is burning your heart, and should he die . . . well, that is the worst case scenario."

I stared at the mist, hearing the words she did not say clearer than the ones she had. "I would die, wouldn't I?"

"Well . . . not right away."

That caught my attention. "Why not?"

"You would go insane," she said quietly. "Our mates tie us to sanity; they balance us and our power. They are the other halves of our soul; they complement us and we complement them. Without them, we are adrift and alone. You need him, child. You cannot ignore that fact."

I was silent again. She had answered every question, basically. Then a new one came up. "Why did . . . Why did Drakale call me his sister? And why do you keep calling me 'my child'?"

"It is the title of address," she said simply. "We are a smaller order than the Jedi, and much closer. Therefore, our apprentices and teachers are also much closer, as we are both children of the Force. Fellow apprentices and full Walkers call each other sisters and brothers, while teachers are called Lady Mother or Lord Father. Apprentices are addressed as 'my daughter' or 'my son' or – in your case – 'my child'."  
"My case?"

She took my hands and turned them palm up. It was then that I saw two glinting silver marks set into her own palms – a sun and a moon.

"These are the marks of a Walker who has chosen to serve the light," she told me. "I chose the light as well, child, to ally myself with the Jedi Order. The Jedi Order is the sun – they shine the brightest with light. We, the Walkers, merely reflect that light – like the moon – but we are small in number and therefore much more precise with whom we destroy."

Anticipating my question, she added, "You do not have them yet, for you are not yet an apprentice. That is why I call you 'my child'."

I caught her implied meaning. "I would be honored, Lady Mother, to have you as my teacher," I said formally.

She smiled. "And I would be honored to train you, my daughter." Then she pressed my hands together between her own. There was a flash of light and I yelped as a flash of pain rippled through me.

When she let go, I examined my hands. There was a sun and moon all right – but on my wrists instead of my palms.

"When you have passed the trials, they will move," she assured me. Her words were almost sad, as if she had said this to someone else. . .

My breath caught. _Who had trained Drakale?_ "Lady Mother . . . I don't mean to be rude . . . or prying . . . but . . ."

"But what, my daughter?"

"Drakale," I stated flatly. "Who trained him? How did he end up . . . well, like that?"

My Lady Mother was silent for a long time, but I didn't move to apologize. As a piece of Jedi lore went, _To understand your enemies, know their background, their history. Know everything about them. The more you know, the more you sympathize, and the more you sympathize, the more you understand, and the more you understand, the more you can truly predict their next actions._

In this case, after all Drakale had done to me and my lover and my Master and Anakin, I doubted I would ever sympathize with Drakale, but I might as well know his story.

Finally, she said, in a low voice, "I trained Drakale."

I stared. "Wait – what?"

"_I_ trained Drakale," she repeated softly. "He was my greatest failure – my son before you, my daughter."

"But how – How did – "

"How did he turn evil?"

"Well, yeah."

She sighed. "It is a long story. He was proud to be a Walker; proud and powerful. I cautioned him to be mindful of how closely he walked the line between confidence and arrogance, but he always laughed it off. He never quite understood the meaning, the true meaning, of loyalty, of duty, of . . . of sacrifice.

"But I loved him. I loved him dearly. I had trained him since he was but a child of ten years old, for he had not been found by the Jedi or the Sith as Walkers usually are. When he called me 'Lady Mother' he really meant it, for I was the only parent figure he had ever known. And I meant with all of my heart when I called him 'my son'."

_This sounds very familiar. . ._ "He . . . He lost something, didn't he? And he resented you for it?"

"Yes." She spoke now in a whisper. "One what was supposed to be the last mission before he made his Choice and received the marks we all carry, he fell in love with a handmaiden there. She was beautiful, she really was. But I could sense that she was not the woman he was destined to be bound to. I tried to warn him. Eventually, I was forced to order him from her side."

"Something happened."

"Oh, yes. The creature attacked the next day at dawn, and we scrambled to protect everyone. But we couldn't be everywhere, even though there were two of us and a few other Jedi teams. So we decided to center our focus on the main weak point. One strike got through – and it killed the handmaiden."

_Thank the Force that never happened to Anakin!_ Then I went back and thought it over. _Actually, it kind of did. The handmaiden he falls in love with . . . the protection of Jedi that ultimately fails . . . Yes, it does sound familiar._

"Drakale never forgave me for ordering him from her side – he felt he could have saved her. I could not tell him why I had told him off; the inner secrets of Walkers cannot be spoken so freely in any place save here."

"So what happened the day you asked him to Choose?"

"He had been listening to rumors. He felt that he could destroy the creature if he worked with it and learned how it functioned."

"Like defeating the dark side by joining it?"

"Basically."

I went quiet as I understood the purpose of the story. "He Choose the dark side."

"Yes. He became branded with the symbols of darkness – the lightning bolt, the symbol of the dark power of the Sith, and the new moon, which reflects no light but lightning. He also became an outcast, for the Force does like its children to Choose darkness. It then became my task to hunt him down, which I did, and I imprisoned him." Her voice grew sad; obviously it had pained her greatly to hurt the man she had raised as her son. "He never ever forgave me for that, and his hatred only grew stronger as the generations passed."

Silence rose as I committed her story about Drakale to memory. To my surprise, the Jedi lore had spoken true – by knowing about Drakale, I had started to sympathize with him and by doing so, I had begun to understand him. Why he lashed out. Why he churned with anger. Why he acted the way he did.

_He lost someone he loved._ Another thought occurred to me. _He wanted my blood – and Anakin's – not to rule. . . He wanted to bargain with the creature and get his lover back._

_Now I understand you, Drakale. And now I can see how far I can fall._

"I have one last question, Lady Mother."

"Yes?"

"Why am I the last Walker? Why aren't there more of us?" We were so powerful and we were dedicated to our duty – why not have more of us, to keep the balance better?

Lady Elizabeth sighed again, long and deep and sad. "We were too powerful," she answered simply. "So powerful that not even our mates were enough to balance us. And so it became decided that the mortals of the Jedi and Sith Orders would take over keeping the balance, to prepare for the coming of the Chosen One."

She shifted. "Besides, you have a duty, too, my daughter."

"I do? Wasn't my task just to fix this universe?"

"It was, and it was part of the task the Walkers have labored to complete for over a thousand generations."

"Oh. Well, that's nice to know."

"You are the key to our greatest success," she said. "The darkness in the Force – it being unbalanced – pains us greatly. Our task was to right it – permanently. Or rather . . . that was Drakale's task once. Now it is yours."

_Oh. Because that's such a _small_ task right there_, I thought, my heart sinking. The fact that Drakale had come so close only to fail and fall into darkness was not reassuring.

She smiled and placed her hand reassuringly on my shoulder. "You need not fear. You have already begun on the task. To achieve permanent balance, you need right the fates of only three universes. Three, child. And you have already saved one."

"What about my own?"

A shadow crossed her face, and Lady Elizabeth sighed. "Once, many years ago, we were allowed to change the fates of the universes we hailed from." She shook her head slowly. "But no longer, my daughter. The Chosen One of your universe has chosen the path he will take to achieve the prophecy; you are forbidden to change that."

"But I – "

"_No_, my daughter," Lady Elizabeth said sternly. Her blue eyes were emphatic yet commanded complete obedience, much like my Master's had – almost exactly like my Master's had, which was slightly scary. "See this as the first test of your control. Do not interfere. Things will come to pass whether you like it or not – and whether or not you interfere. Whatever changes you make shall be swept away by the Force – or, even worse, shall only add to the list of things at stake during the final confrontation."

I gritted my teeth and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. A throbbing pain was growing within me as I resisted the temptation. "Why does it hurt so much?" I asked after a moment, when the pain had subsided somewhat.

Lady Elizabeth put her hand on my forehead, and the pain vanished. "I am sorry, my daughter, but there is nothing you can do," she said softly. "You feel pain, as I do, because of our nature. It is the very nature of a Walker to attempt to balance what is not; it is simply how we are. Leaving things unbalanced pains you deeply, but I'm afraid you cannot escape it."

I sighed. "Very well." I stared broodingly away from her, upset, and my eyes fell upon the sleeping figure of my Master.

Lady Elizabeth followed my gaze. "Your Master will not remember what has transpired here," she assured me. "And nor will the one you call Siri Tachi."

A small bit of relief entered me. "And Anakin?"

"He will remember bringing balance and he will remember you; but he shall not remember the confrontation between the two versions of Obi-Wan Kenobi. That, the Force shall wash clean from his memory."

"What about Obi-Wan?"

She sighed now, crossing her arms and gazing at my lover thoughtfully. "I am not sure what the Force will do to him," she admitted finally. "He is your mate, and as such has the right to know whatever you wish to tell him about your duties as a Walker. However, the confrontation was ill done; such things are not allowed lightly. And it was not proper for him to see what he could have become – or to learn what Master Kenobi's relationship to you was."

"Will he ever remember?"

"Until you tell him, I doubt he will."

I blinked. "He can know?"

She smiled gently at me. "He is your mate," she said simply. "You should know that mates are not chosen simply, my daughter. A life-bond is not formed lightly, nor is the choosing of the mate of a Walker undertaken lightly. He will never betray you, and while he will not always completely understand you, he will be as close to that as one can get. The affection between you will not falter; if anything, it will grow stronger, as will the bond between you."

"So . . . basically . . . whatever I wish to tell him, I can?" I asked.

"Yes. As your mate, that is his right and your gift. You may confide in him everything you wish about your duties as a Walker, but impress on him that whatever you tell him is between you and him – no one else."

She dropped her arms and turned to me. "Your task in this world is done, my daughter. You must return home now."

"Oh." Sorrow and pain welled up within me. _After all I have done, now I must lose it all?_ "What – What about the life-bond?" I forced myself to ask.

"It will become dormant, as the bond between you and your Master did," she answered. "It was formed when you chose to serve the light and you have completed it and he is indeed your mate – but that alone cannot stand against the Force. You need to let him go."

"Will I ever see him again?"

Her eyes were unreadable. "That depends on you – and on the will of the Force."

"Then . . . Can't I at least stay for another day or two? Explain to the Council what really happened, and what to avoid in the future?"

She gazed at me, and I knew that she knew the real reason that I wanted to stay. I wanted to – for at least one more day – stay with my lover, to relish in the love and security he offered me and live for a little while in the peace I had helped to create.

"You may," she said finally, surprising me. She smiled. "I am not devoid of a heart, my daughter; I too have felt the same pain when it came time for me to bid my own mate good-bye for a time. But be mindful – with every passing hour, you grow closer to death. You must return by the second sunset of your time there."

"I understand."

She reached out and touched a single finger to my forehead. "If ever you need me, my daughter, I shall be here. Your training under me shall resume in due time."

As she spoke, the silver mist that had slowly begun coiling around us began glowing and my vision began growing hazy again. I felt strangely tired and drained of energy, and Lady Elizabeth's words began to echo in my ears.

But I wasn't afraid. I had found who I was, what I was, and what I was meant to be.

Now, all I had to do was figure out how to break the news to the one I loved.


	57. Chapter 55

**_Chapter Fifty-Five_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
I paced worriedly in the hospital wing, my eyes darting from one bed to the next. There were four beds in total now – Anakin, Siri, Obi-Wan, and Kya.

In the beginning, there'd only been one – Anakin's. He had collapsed not too long ago, right in the middle of lightsaber practice. We'd rushed him to the hospital wing, but the Naboo healers had been at a loss to explain why the boy was unconscious. The healer we had summoned from the Temple had come to the same conclusion.

I had tried many times to reach out to Anakin through our training bond, but it was still too fresh, too raw. I received nothing in return and could barely sense my apprentice; it was like he wasn't even there.

Then Siri had turned up unconscious in that same strange place that she, Obi-Wan, and Kya had vanished into the gateway. Adi had tried to reach her through their training bond only to be repulsed.

That led us all to believe that something very fishy was going on, and for the next day we'd all been very jumpy and restless. The Queen was worried as well, but at least she could occupy herself with the day-to-day matters of state. I really had nothing to do except sit here and worry.

Finally, Obi-Wan and Kya had appeared in the same place as Siri very early this morning. The second they had, the gateway had flickered and disappeared completely, and Siri and Anakin had relaxed into a deep healing sleep.

We still couldn't reach them, though. Any of them.

"They still aren't awake?"

I looked up just in time to see Mace sweep into the room. Dark circles under his eyes attested to the number of hours the Council had been secluded in debate, trying to figure out what to do. The darkness in the Force had vanished with the appearance of Kya and Obi-Wan, which led us all to believe that the Sith – including the vanished Maul and Vereora – were defeated. But how, we were not sure. The question of what to do next was also bothering the Council, especially since we now had to face the rather tricky situation of explaining that Palpatine had been a Sith and all of that.

I shook my head. "No."

"Have you tried the bond?"

"Yes."

"No results, I presume then," Mace said with a sigh, settling into a chair. He passed a hand over his face. "The Council is getting anxious. We can deal with Palpatine being a Sith, we can deal with the Republic – but first we need to know how all of this came about."

I sat down beside him and leaned back in my chair. "What about Obi-Wan and Kya?"

Mace straightened. "I am not sure. . . The Jedi Code still stands, Qui-Gon. We have seen nothing that would make us change our mind about that."

"And you?"

He snorted, obviously unhappy that I had seen between his words so easily. "You and your Living Force. I don't know. Personally, I don't see much harm in it – Obi-Wan has been a devoted apprentice, and I am sure he'll make a good Jedi, an asset to the Order. And he handles the bond well, from what we have seen."

"But Kya troubles you."

"Of course!" he exclaimed. "She is unpredictable, she is powerful, and she is mysterious. We still don't know half as much as I'd like to about who and what she is."

"Well, if you'd stop trying to control me and started listening, you'd see a bit more, Master Windu," said a dry voice.

Both of us started and turned to see Kya sitting up, her arms crossed as she watched us.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
The two Masters eyed me uncertainly, and I couldn't blame. Most likely, they had thought me asleep through all of this. But I had woken up in the middle, startled by the sound of Master Windu's voice.

The others, I saw, were still sleeping. The strain of being moved into another universe and then – for Obi-Wan and Anakin – being in the netherworld of the Force was very great, and it would take a while before balance was restored and they would awake. Being a Walker, though, I had recovered much faster.

I really, really wanted to run to Obi-Wan's side, but I knew that right now an act like that might turn the Council's opinion against me – and against attachment. I'd have to do some talking first.

"The Council always listens," Master Windu said finally, having got over the surprise.

"Really?" I cocked my head. "To the fullest degree?"

He shifted uneasily under my gaze.

"No, they don't," I told him with a sigh. "If the Council really listened and stopped always peering at the future, you would have sensed Palpatine's true identity much sooner. That has always been the flaw of the Council – you strive to the see the future, the outcome so much that you can't focus on what's happening right now that will lead you there."

Master Windu leaned back. "I take it, then, that you are a proponent of the Living Force over the Unifying?"

I shook my head. "No, Master Windu. What I ask is that the Council allows those of the Living Force to join its ranks as well; with our greatest focusing not only on the future but also the present, you will have a better chance of diverting danger before it becomes too dangerous."

Master Jinn leaned forward, catching my attention. "Enough of this pretense. What in blazes happened? Everything here went – "

"Crazy? Upside down?" I interrupted.

Both Masters started.

I crossed my arms. "Let me guess: the darkness in the Force vanished at about the same time Anakin turned up. And then when Obi-Wan and I turned up, the gateway vanished."

Master Windu's dark eyes narrowed. "You knew." It was a statement, not a question.

I sighed. "I'd hope I know! I was there when it happened," I said tartly. I let my tone soften slightly. "It was well done, what you did, Master Jinn. The prophecy came true. Anakin Skywalker defeated Darth Sidious."

Master Jinn relaxed visibly, a tired smile springing to his face. "Thank the Force," he said softly.

"Where is Darth Sidious now?" Master Windu asked.

I shrugged. "Dead. Gone. The Force does not take kindly to those who trespass in its affairs and attempt to meddle in the destinies of others. That is a right reserved for the children of the Force alone."

"Children of the Force?" Master Windu repeated.

I raised an eyebrow. "Anakin, of course."

"And you," Master Jinn said suddenly. His dark blue eyes were focused on me with a sudden gleam, as if he was suddenly seeing something in or around me that he hadn't seen before. "You're a daughter of the Force too, aren't you? That's why our records turn up nothing about you."

Master Windu sent him a sharp look, which he ignored.

I sighed again. "You see well, too," I said resignedly. "But yes, to answer you. In my universe, my mother was pregnant during the accident, which killed her and my father on impact – yet allowed me to still be alive when they were brought to the hospital. I exist in purely one form, one universe. It gives me the power to be able to alter how things work out. But it also means that I am forced to walk a line so fine between the light and the dark that sometimes I don't know which is which."

"Obi-Wan steadies you," Master Windu remarked quietly.

I stared at the Korun Master, stunned. Master Windu, if anything, was known for his ability to use the Unifying Force, not the Living.

"I can see that he is your shatterpoint," the Master explained. "When you two are together, you is more relaxed, more focused. You become more confident, more assured. You aren't afraid to act. He gives you confidence, and a sense of security."

I swallowed. Master Windu was seeing more of our relationship much more clearly than I'd thought he'd be able to.

"Of course, you aren't the only one," Master Windu continued, leaning back almost casually. "He is affected too. I can sense it. He seems more . . . grounded when you're there. His footsteps are surer, his skills better. And not just when considering strength, which I could guess he gets from you."

"Are you telling me this to frighten me or impress me?" I asked finally, looking back up at him.

He shrugged. "Neither, apprentice; I just thought you ought to know. Especially considering the power of the bond you share with Padawan Kenobi."

"Will the Council reconsider its stance on attachment?"

"I am not open to discussion on that point right now," he said firmly, but his tone was gentle and I saw understanding in his dark eyes. I had no question about his personal feelings about attachment – especially between Obi-Wan and me – but no doubt he didn't want to give me any false hopes.

A comlink chimed from inside a pocket of Master Windu's robe, and the Korun Master sighed. "Break time's up," he said sorrowfully, rising.

Master Jinn laughed, and Master Windu shot him a dirty look.

I suppressed a laugh.

Master Jinn rose too, then. "Well, if everyone will recover shortly, then – if you'll excuse me – I'm going to get some sleep," he said, inclining his head in my direction before sweeping out.

I hardly had time to smile before a soft groan caught my attention.

And then my smile got even wider when Obi-Wan's eyes opened.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I barely had time to look around before I saw Kya. I shifted slightly, and an involuntary groan slipped past my lips when I irritated one of my wounds.

Kya's head snapped up, and her sapphire eyes lit up when she saw me. Seconds later, she was by my side. I only gave her enough time to breathe my name before I grabbed her and pulled her down on top of me, kissing her fiercely and not letting her go.

When we broke apart to breathe, she slipped beneath the blankets so that she could snuggle closer. I wrapped my arms around her, relishing in the feel of holding her and knowing she was safe.

"Are you all right?"

I kissed her hair. "Yes. And you?"

She shifted slightly, closing her eyes. "Yes." She sighed deeply. "I'm glad you're awake. The Masters were getting worried."

"Worried that we wouldn't wake up or worried that they'd never get the answers?"

"Be nice."

"I _am_ being nice."

She sent me the mental version of rolling her eyes. "Yeah, right."

I grinned down at my love.

"What do you remember?" she asked suddenly, her voice tense and her expression tight, even with her eyes still closed.

I frowned. "What do you – oh."

Images were coming back in my mind – all of them tinted by a strange silver haze, for some reason. Falling onto the pavement. Fighting off the clones. Seeing the Temple – the ruined, smoking, bloody building it had become. Running to the Temple. Meeting Kya and Yoda and . . . and some other man whose face I couldn't really remember.

My frown deepened as I tried to remember, but the more I concentrated, the hazier and more distant the memory got.

I shelved it and went on through my memory lane.

Waking up to find Maul over me. Fighting Maul. Being defeated and trapped against a wall by slimy tentacles. Seeing Maul suddenly vanish and being surrounded in a silver snowstorm. Finding Kya and kissing her. Arguing with that strange other man, who knew Kya and disapproved of our love. Falling unconscious yet again.

"Who was that man?" The question slipped past my lips before I had even considered it. I got the strange feeling that the other man knew Kya and that he was important to her for some reason . . . but for the life of me I couldn't remember _why_.

Kya shifted uneasily by my side. "You don't remember?"

"No. Well, yes," I corrected. "But not clearly. He's like . . . I don't know. His face is just a blurry image to me. I don't understand why I can't remember it."

My lover sighed, long and deep, and her sapphire eyes slid open. "You won't be the only one who doesn't remember," she said softly. "Anakin won't either."

"Why not?" I demanded. Usually, I had a pretty good memory, especially with the Force to aid me. Perhaps with a little meditation I could recover the memory. . .

Kya squashed that thought. "The Force washed your memory of his face," she explained with a slow shake of her head. "You will never remember his face, or who he is."

"Is?"

Her lips twitched. "Is. He is still alive."

"You know him?"

"Yes."

"Very well?"

"Yes."

"Did he know your Master?"

She smiled patiently. "Does," she corrected. "And yes."

The questions had sounded logical and they still did, but . . . I felt a mounting frustration build in me. I felt like I was trying to assemble a puzzle with pieces I didn't have – and the ones I did have I couldn't see clearly, and I had no idea how they fit together.

The feeling that this piece of information was important and that I should know it – or had known it – returned, but I was forced to accept that I wasn't getting anywhere.

Kya laughed softly. She rested her head on my chest again, closing her eyes wearily. "Stop trying, Obi-Wan. You're only going to get frustrated."

I snorted. "Too late." I eyed my lover when a new thought struck me. "Did the Force wash _your_ memory?"

Her eyes flashed open and she looked at me with alarm and surprise. "Why – What – Well, no," she spluttered.

I burst into laughter, rolling on to my back and gasping for breath. "Oh, you should have seen your face!"

She rose up on her elbow and smacked me with her other hand. "Obi-Wan!"

I stopped laughing and pulled her head down so that we could kiss again. _The one 100% way to stop you from coming up with a counter-argument_, I told her when we broke apart to breathe.

Kya sniffed haughtily, but the image was shattered as she snuggled against my side. _You win._

I started to grin.

_But only this time, Kenobi. Only this time._

I grinned down at her. _Who says this is the last time?_

Kya groaned and closed her eyes. _Be quiet and go to sleep. I'm tired._

_Remember what I said about never letting you forget – _

_Obi-Wan!_

I was still laughing when I sensed her drift off to sleep.


	58. Chapter 56

**_Chapter Fifty-Six_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I leaned against the wall and smiled. The dinner – well, banquet, really – had been completely informal tonight in celebration of the defeat of Darth Sidious and the victory of the Jedi and the Republic. It consisted of Padmé, who was dressed in a simple yet elegant gown without her royal make-up although with her royal entourage; Anakin, dressed in _clean_ Jedi clothes; the Council, most of whom reclined in chairs talking and laughing and acting like normal people for one; and of course Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan.

I paused for a moment, my eyes seeking my mate.

As I looked, I was startled to note how easily the term had sunk into my brain and thinking. Beforehand, I would have shuddered at such a crude term to describe the one I loved. Now . . . it seemed almost . . . well, second nature to call him that.

My search was ended seconds later. Obi-Wan was talking politely to some Senator, his expression bland and blank – but I could feel his discomfort.

I laughed softly to myself. My lover didn't like politicians or politics any more than I did, although he certainly handled them with a great deal more patience than me. I would not have been able to stand there as long as he was, trying to keep my cool.

I took the moment to study my lover. Chestnut brown hair, still in the Padawan haircut. Sparkling blue-green eyes that were cool to people who didn't know him, but swirling full of life for those who did. Muscular frame, one that he used to great advantage against me when we dueled with lightsabers or fought hand-to-hand and one that he hid beneath his concealing Jedi robes, often causing enemies to underestimate him. Strong arms folded into his sleeves, arms that were strong enough to offer me a sense of security yet gentle enough that when they were snug around me the hold felt natural.

Obi-Wan, as if sensing my scrutiny, flashed a quick glance my way. I suppressed a laugh at the annoyance in that one glance.

_Annoyed?_ I asked him.

He sent the mental equivalent of a snort. _Obviously. Honestly, these blabbing politicians are enough to make me wish I was an enemy of the Republic so that I could fight Jedi instead of trying to keep a straight face with these . . . these . . . _

I snickered, unable to hold in my amusement anymore.

He glared at me.

_Well, it is funny_, I told him.

_And why is that?_ he growled, but there was a hint of playfulness in his growl, a playfulness I knew emanated from his teasing nature when he was dealing with me.

I smiled. _In my universe, Master Kenobi is known as the Negotiator, able to deal with politicians from sunrise to sunset when they are throwing their ridiculous hero parties. And yet you can't even deal with one of them for the length of a single banquet._

He snorted again and returned his attention to the Senator.

Anakin and Siri had recovered quite well from their respective experiences, and I could see that my Lady Mother had spoken the truth – Anakin remembered nothing except defeating Sidious and then falling unconscious; Siri remembered next to nothing at all. Just random flashes, she had told me, that was all.

Which was very, very good.

I hadn't yet told Obi-Wan the truth about who we had met . . . and I wasn't sure I wanted to. He wouldn't stop loving me or me him, but it would certainly change the dynamics of our relationship and cause some awkwardness.

I didn't want that. Not today, or tomorrow, or any days in the future.

A burst of sunlight hit my face just as I finished that thought, and I threw my hand up to block it. I squinted at the window, surprised; a few minutes ago, this whole area had been shaded.

That was when I noticed with alarm that the sun was setting.

_You must return by the second sunset of your time there._

I swallowed as my Lady Mother's voice echoed in my head. _One sunset coming_, I thought to myself. Tomorrow, by sunset, I would need to go home. I had done what I could do here – tomorrow, it would be time to go and live out the consequences on a universe where I hadn't done anything.

I hadn't told Obi-Wan that part either. He would enraged if he knew that I was returning to a place where my only companion would be a constant sensation of pain, and where I was hunted day and night by the Empire and the Sith. He would try and stop me, and I didn't want to find out that I wasn't strong enough to resist his pleas.

With a sigh, I slipped away from the banquet. I had spent the whole day talking to the Council, talking to the Queen, talking to Anakin and Siri and Obi-Wan, talking to Senators, talking, talking, _talking_.

Now I needed some quiet time, for myself.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I felt Kya leave the banquet and barely managed to conceal my frown. It wasn't like her to slip out like she had just done. And there was a hint of sadness around my lover . . . as if she wasn't telling me something.

Oh, she was already concealing stuff; that much I knew. But I knew better than to push her. Or, rather, some instinct of mine knew better than to push her. She had reasons, and knowing her, they were good reasons.

In any case, I hastily excused myself and followed her, wondering what had put her in such a melancholy mood.

I found her standing at the open window in her room. It once perhaps had been a window seat, but the seat was no longer there. That left the enormous window, which I knew Kya liked. She liked being able to look over Naboo – with its sparkling waters and cool grass – and see it all, feeling the wind pull at her hair and the earthly smell rise to her.

I looked at her – at her dark brown hair falling in a curtain around her face; at her eyes of swirling, mischievous, sparkling sapphire blue; at her lovely face, glowing with happiness and security; at her slender frame, clad in the simple cream-colored shift and pants that hugged her frame and left her arms bare. She was so beautiful, caught in the rays of the setting sun that seemed to embrace her and make her outline look as if she was glowing.

In the Force, she _was_ glowing.

And in my eyes.

Kya seemed to sense that she was being scrutinized. Turning around, she tilted her head slightly, regarding me with a question in her eyes. I could feel her curiosity through our bond, and I suppressed a smile at the almost innocent feel of it.

"What is it?" she asked, seeming suddenly self-conscious.

With a few quick steps, I was by her side. I reached for her and pulled her against me, so that her back was against my chest. She settled against me easily, but I could still sense her curiosity, could still see it in her eyes.

_You're so beautiful. I can't believe I didn't notice it before_, I told her.

She shifted. _Obi-Wan. . ._

_It's true!_ I insisted, sliding a hand through her hair and relishing in the softness of it.

She arched almost unconsciously into my touch, her eyes closing as a contented air filled her. _Beautiful? Hardly_, she murmured in response.

_To me you are._

She smiled lazily up at me, opening one eye. _And then what are you to me?_

_A Jedi Padawan?_

Kya rolled her eyes. _Try again._

_Um . . . myself?_

Amusement tinged her tone. _No. More._

_What else could there be?_

Kya was silent for a moment, and I got the feeling she was trying to figure out how to answer me. Finally, she said, very softly, "My mate."

I started.

"Or at least that's how the Walkers called ones like you," Kya continued, determinedly not looking at me.

"Ones like me?" I repeated.

She sighed and twisted in my arms to face me. "Ones bound to a Walker," she explained, a red blush tainting her cheeks. "That is why Drakale could attack you; you're my mate, and therefore you can be drawn into our conflicts."

I raised an eyebrow, my mind racing. "Is that short for soulmate or is it the literal term?"

Kya looked away, the red spreading even further on her cheeks.

I could guess why. "Mate" sounded like such a crude term, and I sensed that she really didn't like associating me – or our love – with it.

"I don't know," she said finally. "But most likely literally, because Walkers existed a long, long time ago."

I tightened my arms momentarily, to get her attention back. "Don't be ashamed," I told her gently. "It doesn't bother me."

"It bothers _me_."

I smiled. "Kya. . . Mate isn't so crude, you know. It refers to someone who is, basically, the other half of your soul. Primal? Primitive? Yes, but quite understandable. After all, sometimes the simplest of titles are the best to give. I would guess in the old days that it was the only person one would sleep with, but nowadays such rules aren't respected – "

Kya's eyes flashed. "I would."

"As would I." I pulled her closer, resting my chin on her head. "But I'm not offended. If anything, the title has quite the opposite effect."

Slowly, I felt my lover relax against me, her hands creeping up to rest on my shoulders, her eyes closing.

"Now, what's bothering you?"

At once, Kya stiffened, and I knew I had guessed correctly that it was more than this "mate" business that had her on edge.

"Nothing," she said quickly – too quickly.

"Wrong answer." I eyed her exasperatedly. "I'm your mate, remember? I can sense when you're lying."

That coaxed a small smile out of her, at least. Finally, she sighed. "I need to leave."

"What? When? Now?"

"No. . . Tomorrow, by sunset."

"Well, that's an . . . accurate gauge of time," I observed, trying to cover up the shock I felt. _Only one more day? Only _one_ more day? Kya saves this whole universe, and she only gets _one_ day to herself?_

And to us, but I was a bit more concerned with Kya than myself right now.

Despite my efforts, she sensed my rising anger anyways, for she said soothingly, "Calm down. One day is still a lot of time, Obi-Wan."

I was about to snap a retort when I saw a strange glint in her sapphire eyes. A glint that definitely hadn't been there a minute ago. A glint that looked a bit too mischievous for my comfort zone.

"What are you planning?" I asked suspiciously.

She smiled, innocently and sweetly. "Nothing major."

"Your definition of major or my definition of – "

I was cut off mid-sentence when she suddenly pushed me, the Force swirling around her to give her the strength to make me stumble backwards. I tripped over something as I stumbled, and as a result must have looked rather silly when I tried to catch myself – and ended up falling on the bed instead.

And then Kya was there, her weight pinning my waist down, her eyes glinting with a strange combination of mischief and laughter.

"Kya, what – "

She kissed me, hard, and I stopped speaking. Then she shifted slightly, and I gasped as her pelvis ground against me, sending liquid fire racing into my veins – fire that I desperately tried to control.

"Kya – "

"Don't," she whispered, her fingers already pulling at my tunic. Her whisper was full of a strange emotion that sent desire through me and made my heart start pounding in my chest below where one of her hands rested.

"Why are you – "

I cried out with shock, arching upwards, when the hand that had been over my heart slipped a little lower than I expected.

"Why – "

She stopped moving suddenly at my stuttered question, head tilted as she regarded me. One of straps holding up her shift had already shifted down her arm somewhat, and I fought the temptation to move it.

_This is our last night_, she told me, her tone almost . . . I didn't know. Excited? Anticipatory? No, wait, it wasn't that.

It was purely seductive.

_Our last night together_, she continued, a smile twitching her lips up. _Well, are you going to help or just lie there staring at me like I'm not from this world?_

I smiled and grabbed her shoulders, finally released from the spell of pleasure, finally able to move, finally understanding. And I had no intentions of letting her have all the fun.

I pulled her down so that I could whisper in her ear, feeling her shiver as I grasped her.

"You're not from this world, Kya. . . You're so, so, so much better."

As I spoke the last word, I jerked my hips, sending her off me with a startled gasp. Whirling around, I rolled on top of her, pinning her beneath me and restraining her hands above her head. She gazed up at me, her eyes startled but also containing a sort of . . . challenge in them.

A challenge I had no intentions of refusing.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I smiled when I heard Obi-Wan's breathing even out completely as sleep finally claimed my lover. I snuggled closer to him, and my smile only widened when his arm around me tightened, pulling me closer still.

Even in sleep, it seemed, Obi-Wan would try to protect me, keep me close, shield me from danger.

I didn't mind. That was his right and his duty, according to the laws of the Walkers. A Walker's mate was the one person in whom a Walker could confide, the one person who saw every aspect of the Walker – sadness and joys; miracles and disasters; hope and despair. However, because of that, the Walker was bound – by law and by bond – to strive to protect the Walker.

_Obi-Wan always does that_, I thought.

Master Windu was right too. What I had done to Obi-Wan I never would have dared do to anyone else. But anyone else was not my mate, the one who knew me just as well or perhaps even better than I knew myself. I was more confident, more relaxed around him, knowing that he understood me – truly understood me.

And although perhaps it hadn't always been planned that way, I felt even more secure by knowing that he loved me and I loved him. He would never ever lift a hand against me, much less betray me, and he loved me and accepted me for exactly who I was.

_The only pressure he would ever exert on me to change would be to stop getting into so much danger, probably_, I thought ruefully.

But unfortunately, that would never be the case. A Jedi's life was full of danger, and a Walker fared little better.

Obi-Wan stirred then, and his blue-green eyes opened to regard me sleepily. "Why aren't you sleeping? Are you all right?"

I rested my head against his bare chest, listening to his steady heartbeat, feeling his strong arms around me, breathing in his familiar scent. I could sense the warmth of his affection for me, strong enough to make him defy even the Jedi Council for me – for us.

"Yes, I'm fine," I told him. "Just thinking."

"Well, stop. You need sleep."

"A Jedi can go for days without sleep."

"Not by will. And not while we can sleep."

"What happened to respecting my power, Obi-Wan? "

"Just because you're a high and mighty Walker doesn't mean I won't boss you around when I think something's good for you, and right now it's sleep."

I sniffed, pretending to be wounded. "Stuffy boss, you mean."

"No, just one who cares a great deal for you," he corrected.

I rolled my eyes, but I couldn't stop the smile that spread across my face.

I sensed him smile as well, and a second later I felt him nuzzle my hair gently as his fingers started a rhythmic caress that slid down my back and made me relax even more against him. The Force swirled about him, and I felt him slip a gentle Force-suggestion through the bond – which only made me more inclined to relax against him and sleep.

_I love you, Kya_, he whispered.

That night, for the first time, I was too sleepy to respond to my lover's words. I simply closed my eyes and drifted off into sleep, safe within his arms.


	59. Chapter 57

**_Chapter Fifty-Seven_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
Kya was still sleeping when I woke up. I smiled down at her. I could feel her exhaustion still lingering in her aura, despite a full night of sleep. My memories were perhaps a touch vague and hazy about the confrontation, but I knew that Kya had expended a lot of energy to do what she had done to save us – whatever she had done.

I inhaled deeply as a warm breeze swept in from the window, bringing with it the earthy smells of Naboo. The smells were slightly damp, as it was morning, but that didn't bother me. _If I could have my way, I would live out the rest of my days here_, I thought wistfully.

Kya shifted slightly in her sleep as the breeze swept over us, snuggling closer to me. Her expression was relaxed and a faint smile was on her lips, so I assumed that her dreams at least were pleasant. She deserved that much, at least, after what she had gone through.

Then her eyes opened, revealing the swirling sapphire depths. "Morning," she murmured, pressing closer to me.

I hugged her gently. "Ready to face the Council, my love?" I teased.

"Don't remind me," she muttered darkly.

I laughed, and she glared at me. Kissing her forehead lightly, I let her go and sat up, reaching for my discarded tunic and pants. Or, at least, I tried to reach them. In the end, I ended up calling them to my hand with the Force.

"What, you can't bother to get up and get them the normal way?" Kya asked, watching me from where she was still lying on the bed. She had apparently already slipped into her shift, although how she had managed to do it so quickly was beyond me.

Tugging my tunic over my head, I looked down at her and made a face. "The floor is cold. I'm not walking barefoot on it." It was true, in a way. But I also didn't want to leave her side. I wanted to spend every available moment with her alone for as long as and as often as I could.

She rolled her eyes. "Then just get your boots first."

I reached out to the Force for them, but when I started to pull them towards me, they suddenly shifted and went the opposite direction.

I frowned. _What in blazes?_

I tried again, and this time they nearly took my head off when they shot in my direction with the force of a cannonball.

"Kya!" I growled, seeing the smirk on my lover's face.

She opened her eyes innocently. "What is it?"

I reached for my boots yet again, and this time they didn't even twitch, as someone else's Force-hold held them firmly in place. And this time, Kya couldn't contain the snicker that travelled across our bond.

"Kya, cut it out."

"_I'm_ not doing anything."

"Oh, sure."

She started snickering again at the exasperation in my voice, but she stopped mid-snicker when she saw the dangerous look on my face.

I tensed, allowing a predatory smile to come to my face.

She bolted.

I lunged for her, closing my arms around her waist in a powerful grip. The force of my collision sent us both to the ground. We wrestled for control, with both of us using the Force to attempt to catch the other off guard as we rolled in circles.

I had just managed to pin her under me and was fighting to seize her hands when Kya suddenly froze. Her expression went from determined and teasing to horrified and . . . and queasy.

I let go and rolled off of her instantly, startled. I had never seen such an expression on my love's face before. Well, the horror, yes. But the queasiness? Never.

"Kya? Are you all right?"

She didn't respond, looking down at the ground and focusing inwards. One hand went to her stomach, as if she was in pain.

I reached out for her just as she leaped up and ran to the refresher.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
Nausea overwhelmed me as I ran to the bathroom, and I only made it in time to start retching, my stomach rejecting what seemed like a whole day's worth of food. And to add insult to injury, after I was done retching, I continued to cough, the awful taste burning in my mouth.

I was still kneeling on the floor coughing when I sensed Obi-Wan kneel beside me, and he gently laid one of his hands on my back. The Force rippled around him as he sent calming waves to ease my coughing. Slowly, it worked, and the coughing subsided.

I leaned against him, suddenly tired.

_What happened? Are you all right?_ Obi-Wan radiated pure concern, his teasing mood having vanished completely.

I sighed, turning so that I could rest my head against his shoulder. _I have no idea. Perhaps I ate something that didn't agree with me last night._

_Perhaps._

I felt one of his hands rest lightly on my forehead. His touch was surprisingly cool against my skin, as if he was holding ice to my forehead instead of his hand. But it was a relief nonetheless, even though I hadn't realized I felt too warm until now.

_Well, you're not sick_, he said after a moment, opening his eyes. His hand dropped to my shoulder, pulling me securely against him. _Perhaps . . . Perhaps it was just what you ate. Some of the food was . . . interesting, I must say._

I opened my eyes and looked at him. _What, not in the mood to tease me for not being able to hold down some food?_

He met my eyes squarely, and there was no amusement swirling in the blue-green depths. Just concern and seriousness. _No. This isn't the time for jokes. I'm just worried._

I rested my head against his shoulder again. _Well, you can calm down now. I'm fine._

_I hope so._

_You are very pessimistic, Obi-Wan._

_Well, someone has to keep you safe from your impulsive actions_, he said, reverting back to teasing mood, much to my relief. He brushed his fingers across my cheek lightly as he spoke, the touch confirming that he was still worried about me.

_Says the one who bolted from the Council chambers when he heard me say, "No",_ I retorted.

_This from the one who ran into the Maze after me?_

Startled by his words, I pulled away from his grip and opened my eyes. His gaze was clear and hard as he gazed at me, telling me that he knew exactly what he had just said – and knew the implications I would read from it.

"You remembered?"

Obi-Wan nodded. "Yes. It's still only bits and pieces, but I remember the Maze." His eyes flickered. "And I remember the fear I sensed from you."

I shivered, remembering Drakale's words about it. "It was designed to fool us," I said quietly. "Force-sensitives."

"And children of the Force, apparently."

I blinked.

He smiled, moving his hand to my neck so that he could stroke my cheek. "I know."

I tilted my head. "How? I didn't tell – "

"You didn't need to. The Force told me."

"Oh." I looked down, secretly relieved.

So my Lady Mother had spoken true yet again; the Force was guiding Obi-Wan in protecting me from the things that were made to target me – target us. I was also relieved that I wouldn't have to tell him some of my fears. They were just too . . . I didn't want to talk about them, not even to him. And thankfully, it appeared I wouldn't have to.

He squeezed my shoulder gently. "Let's get ready for the Council, all right?"

I nodded, putting the incident in the back of my mind. I had other, more important things to worry about than my stomach simply being upset by something I had eaten.

And that was when I tried to stand up – and found that I couldn't.


	60. Chapter 58

**_Chapter Fifty-Eight_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
"She's _what_?"

"Padawan, calm – "

"What's happened to her? Why is she in the hospital wing? Will she be all right? What – "

"Padawan, _calm down_!" I said, my patience finally exhausted by Anakin's incessant questioning.

Anakin's mouth snapped shut, and he had the grace to look ashamed. Or, at least, ready to hold back his questions for a more appropriate time. But his blue eyes told me to get on with what I had to say right now.

I really couldn't blame him. I had had a similar – though slightly more composed – reaction to the news as well.

"Nothing has happened to her, Padawan. She's in the hospital wing because she's extremely weak. As to what ails her, we're not really sure. As to will she be all right . . ." I could only shrug. "I hope so."

"Can I see her?"

"Yes, of course." I motioned to the door behind me – the door that led to Kya's room. "Go on in, Padawan."

I entered smoothly behind my apprentice. Kya was sitting upright in the bed, her head resting on Obi-Wan's shoulder. He was sitting on the edge, one arm around her back to support her while his other hand rested in her lap, covering her hands gently. He was murmuring something softly to her, but stopped when he saw Anakin.

Kya opened her eyes when she sensed Anakin. She smiled faintly. "Hello, Anakin. How are you?"

I marveled at how cool she sounded, but I could also hear the faint tremor that ran underneath it. Concerned, I closed my eyes and reached out to the Force as Anakin started talking.

To my surprise, Kya's aura glowed brilliantly in the Force – even brighter than when I had first met her. But there was an . . . an almost muted edge about her brilliance – as if it wasn't really her, but was someone else, someone different.

That confused me. I didn't understand why Kya seemed stronger in the Force yet was so weak; barely able to stand, if what Obi-Wan had said was true.

"Is she all right?" I murmured to Obi-Wan, sensing his approach to my side without needing to open my eyes.

"I don't know. . . She won't tell me what's wrong with her." My former Padawan sounded frustrated, and more than a little concerned.

I opened my eyes. Obi-Wan's eyes were on me, and sure enough, I could see the frustration swirling in his blue-green eyes. Anakin, meanwhile, had usurped Obi-Wan's place on the bed and was now talking seriously to Kya. Or, rather, Kya was saying something in a serious tone to Anakin, clasping the boy's hands between her own.

"Why won't she?" I asked, frowning. Obi-Wan was the closest to Kya out of all of us; she trusted him more than she trusted anyone else. If she wasn't even talking to him, it was beyond extremely serious.

Obi-Wan shifted his weight uneasily. "I don't know," he repeated quietly.

"What about the bond?" I inquired, crossing my arms.

"She still refuses to answer. I'm not sure if she just doesn't want to or . . . or if she's afraid to."

I turned my full attention to Obi-Wan. "What happened?"

"This morning? Well, she woke up and in the beginning she was okay," he began. "I didn't sense anything was wrong. But then she started vomiting."

My eyebrow went up. "Vomiting? Is she ill?"

"No. The healers checked her out; she's not ill or anything."

I gestured for him to continue, choosing not to question why my former Padawan had been in Kya's room this morning. I had a funny feeling that I did not want to know the answer to that particular question.

"After that, she just . . . I don't know. She just collapsed. She couldn't stand. I'm never sensed her this weak," he concluded gravely, his eyes filled with sadness.

I could fully understand. Due to the life-bond between them, Obi-Wan and Kya were soulmates – bound for eternity by a bond that could not be severed either by physical or mental means. It also meant that he would feel her pain as his own, and that he would do practically anything to keep her safe. It certainly didn't help when one added that to the fact that I could feel his love for her – strong and unyielding – and that Obi-Wan had a powerful and natural protective instinct anyways.

And right now, seeing her so weak and fragile but being unable to do anything was most likely driving Obi-Wan up the wall.

I put my hand on his shoulder briefly. "I'm sure she'll be all right."

Obi-Wan turned his eyes to Kya. "I'm not so sure."

~ _Anakin Skywalker_ ~  
"Why are you here? Are you injured?"

"No, I'm not, Anakin," Kya said patiently.

Obi-Wan let go of Kya and stood, moving off behind me towards Master Qui-Gon. Kya patted the bed, and I clambered on to it eagerly. She took my hands between her own, her sapphire eyes as serious as I'd ever seen.

"What happened to you?" I asked again.

Kya's lips twitched. "Nothing serious. I . . . I'm just tired, Anakin. Fighting the Sith took a lot more out of me than I had expected."

I tilted my head as I gazed at her. I had an inner feeling that she was telling the truth . . . but she was also concealing something . . . something I couldn't quite sense. No, wait, I could sense it. But I couldn't make out what it was.

I held back a sigh. I might have had the highest midi-chlorian count of all time, but Kya was still far stronger than me because she was trained and I was not.

"Anakin?"

"Yes, Kya?"

"Promise me that you'll train hard to become a good Jedi," she said.

"I promise," I vowed at once. "I swear. I'll become the best Jedi ever, I promise."

"No, Anakin. Not the best Jedi ever." She squeezed my hands gently. "Be the best Jedi _you_ can be. Don't compare yourself to anyone else. If you are the best that you can be, then that is all I ask."

"I don't understand."

"Listen to your Master. Follow Master Yoda's teachings. Learn our ways. But do not let them fully restrain you, all right? Just be the best _you_ can be – nothing else."

"Kya . . . Are you going to die?"

She laughed, and the sound made Obi-Wan and Master Qui-Gon look up, startled.

"Oh, Anakin, no, no. Of course not. If anything, were I in such danger, Obi-Wan would be a lot antsier," she said, shooting a smile at him.

He made a face at her, and I barely held in a laugh at how childish it seemed on the soon-to-be Knighted Jedi's face. Somehow, whenever he was around Kya, Obi-Wan seemed a lot less rigid and more apt to indulge in games.

"Oh, and Anakin . . ."

I looked back at Kya, who was digging around in her utility belt pouch for something. After a moment, she produced something small with a triumphant smile and gave it to me.

It was a piece of paper. A plain piece of paper that had a few lines and an elegant signature on it.

I squinted at it, trying to read the cursive lines but failing to grasp the meaning of the sentences, which were written in the flowery language of official documents.

"What is it?" I asked finally.

Kya smiled. "It's a deed, child. I am the last daughter of the Ranor house of Alderaan, and thus the deeds of that estate fall to me. Chancellor Organa settled the matter for me earlier; that's why he was here."

"Why do I have it, then?" I asked, puzzled.

She settled against the back of the bed. "The Ranor estate has a large fortune in it, Anakin. This deed puts a great deal of that fortune at your disposal." Her sapphire eyes met mine. "I trust you will know what to do with it."

I gaped at her. _A whole fortune? I can free Mom with this!_ With that thought, I flung my arms around Kya, who hugged me affectionately.

"Free your mother and put your mind at peace where she is concerned," Kya murmured quietly in my ear.

"I'm sure that the Council will agree to let your mother stay in the Temple, after all she has done," Master Qui-Gon said as I slipped off the bed and bowed to Kya, clutching the deed reverently in my hand.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
"You're worried."

To an observer, it would see that I spoke to thin air – the room appeared finally empty. _Finally_ because for the most part of the day I'd had a steady stream of well-wishers. Some, like Anakin and Qui-Gon, were more concerned than they were letting on. Others, like Queen Amidala and newly elected Supreme Chancellor Bail Organa – temporarily filling in the seat until the Republic's constitution could be rewritten better – took the more political approach, thanking me for what I had done and expressing quietly on the side that they hoped I would be fine soon. And still others – like the Jedi Council – just plowed on like before, continuing to grill me as best as they could with Obi-Wan glaring at them from my side.

A glare that had now softened into a frustrated, confused, and concerned expression as my lover stepped out from the shadows, arms folded into his sleeves.

"Yes. Why won't you tell me what's wrong?" he asked.

I sighed. "I don't want you to worry. . ."

He moved to my side, his eyes blazing. "I'm already worried! Every moment of silence costs me more than every sentence you speak!"

I touched his arm. "Obi-Wan. . ."

The touch seemed to calm him down somewhat. He sat heavily on the bed, reaching out to pull me into a tight embrace. I let him, nestling into his hold.

"I don't want to lose you," he said softly. "I don't want you to suffer."

I looked into his eyes. "You can't stop this."

"I'm your mate. I won't let things like this hurt you." He spoke with a fierce determination, and I knew quite well that he meant every word.

But . . . But I had also meant what I said.

"Please, just tell me what's wrong," he pleaded.

I sighed and reached out to the Force for guidance. It filled me with its comfort, relieving the uncomfortable pain in my stomach that had been building ever since I had vomited this morning. With the relief came the guidance I was seeking, although whether it stemmed from the Force or from Lady Elizabeth I had no idea.

"I'm dying."

His eyes went wide and pure shock filled him. "What – Kya – Why – "

"I've lingered too long past the time I was given. I – I begged her to let me stay, so that I could be with you. I need to go home. I've been so selfish, and – "

He silenced me with a shake of his head. "You haven't been selfish. You've given more of yourself than anyone else alive."

He looked down at me, his eyes softening, and he suddenly stiffened. He went completely still as his blue-green eyes glittered with a cold and faraway glint, as if he wasn't really seeing me anymore. Or at least, not seeing me now.

I frowned. "Obi-Wan . . ."

Obi-Wan started at my voice, shaking his head abruptly as if clearing it of water. "I . . . I understand now," he said finally.

"Understand what?"

His arms tightened around me as he looked at me, the glint in his eyes gone, replaced by a sad seriousness. "The vision I had. . . The one where you died. . . Or, I thought you were dying. . ."

"The one you told me about?"

He nodded.

_I remember that one._ It had been the one that the Force had bestowed upon my mate as both a gift and warning – as a Jedi with a connection to the Unifying Force, it had given him a vision, while as the mate to a Walker, it had given him a warning of what would happen.

Only, it hadn't quite told him everything he needed to know.

Relief – sweet, glorious, warm relief – swept through me. If Obi-Wan had seen me dying here – or seen this scene, more like it – then my _death_ wasn't set.

I would live past this, that much I knew. And he would not have to watch me die.

Only . . . that last thought brought up the unpleasant reminders of _where_ I was still going to be living.

The relief emptied from me, leaving behind a physically drained and emotionally exhausted body. Even the Force, I found, wasn't enough to ward off the overwhelming feeling of loneliness that was sinking in as I considered the empty, solo future I would return to.

Right now, Obi-Wan – and only Obi-Wan – was enough to give me the resolve to keep going, to keep living.

I clung to his arms, wishing that I didn't have to do this. He would give me resolve, but I could not return the favor . . . not in any way.

"What is it?" he asked, sensing my unspoken words.

"Just – Just hold me," I told him.

And he did, his arms so tight around me that he came very close to crushing me against his chest.

I didn't mind. It gave me the chance to bury my face in his chest and hide the tears that were flowing from my eyes.


	61. Chapter 59

**_Chapter Fifty-Nine_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
"But _why_, apprentice? I must confess, I still do not understand why this must occur."

The only sign that Kya allowed to show of her frustration with the incessant questioning of the Jedi Council was the slight stiffening of her posture. I squeezed her hand gently from my spot on the bed beside her, urging her to relax. She was weak enough as it was.

_Calm down, my love._

_Uh! They are so frustrating; they're actually worse than I remember._

I held back a laugh. _Patience, my love, please. At least leave them somewhat of a – a favorable impression . . . before you . . . before you go._

My words had the desired effect; Kya relaxed against me and I felt her silent thanks.

After a pause to collect herself, she said slowly, "My duty requires me to be elsewhere. And you will not hear more of it from me, Councilor! You forget, perhaps, that until such a time that I settle permanently here, my loyalty will be to my own Jedi Council, not this one."

"What Council are you talking about?" Master Gallia asked sourly. "If your accounts are true, then your Council – as well as your Order – was all but decimated by Order 66."

Kya inhaled slowly. "The Jedi Order shall never truly die, Master Gallia; not until the last breath is breathed by the last Jedi alive. There are survivors – numbering in the hundreds, if my memory serves me correctly. It is simply a matter of lying low until the Rebel Alliance is ready to move against the Empire. As to my Order and my Council – well, you would do well to remember that I am not just a Jedi, and that I serve not just the Jedi Council."

Cowed by the not-so-subtle reminder of Kya's other allegiances, the Council sat quietly until finally Master Windu cleared his throat and said, "I take it that you intend to return sometime, then?"

"I don't know. It depends on the will of the Force."

"I sense that there is more to this meeting than a simple farewell, Kya. Might I inquire as to what that is?" My former Master's face was openly inquisitive, and he alone of all of the Masters here had not asked an annoying question of Kya.

Therefore, I was not surprised when Kya's voice did not contain the edge that she had treated the Councilors to.

"Continue studying what you are, Master Jinn," she said with a flicker of a smile. "It shall serve you well. But do not reveal it until the Force tells you that the time is ripe."

I broadcasted my confusion to Kya, but she merely smiled and snuggled deeper into my hold.

_He will tell you in due time, my love_, she assured me._ You will be one of the first to know._

_I'd rather hear it from you._

_We can't have everything we desire._

I nuzzled her hair. _I do. Right now. Right in my arms._

I felt her smile just as my former Master gave a small nod to Kya.

Kya raised her hand. "But there is one thing else I have to say to you, Master Jinn. I have spoken with the Force, and certain things have been made quite clear to me."

"Such as?"

She smiled faintly. "You are a good servant of the will of the Force, Master Jinn. The Council should heed your advice more. Your abilities will serve them well in the times that come. But there is more than that."

I could sense only confusion from my former Master.

And that's when Kya said suddenly, in a loud, powerful, majestic voice that I had never heard from her before, "Jedi Master Tahl! You have waited long enough in the netherworld of the Force. Today your waiting is finished. Come forth!"

~ _Qui-Gon Jinn_ ~  
When Kya finished speaking, there was a burst of sunlight – no, not sunlight. Strange silver light, a light that seemed somehow much purer than even the rays of the sun and somehow more beautiful than the rays of the moon.

And then – And then Tahl, my beloved Tahl, slowly emerged from the light.

Her outline shimmered faintly with the same silver light, as if she was just a hologram, but she looked solid enough. She looked no older than when I had last seen her almost seven years ago – but definitely much happier than that last time.

"Hello, Qui-Gon," she said softly, her musical voice as sweet as I remembered.

"Tahl . . ." Within three short strides, I was by her side. But when I tried to clasp her in my arms, I found I couldn't. Her form simply rippled and vanished like water vapor fleeing from my hands when I tried.

"Not yet, Qui-Gon," Tahl said. "Wait, my love, wait."

I returned my attention to Kya, who was smiling patiently at me. She was the only one. Everyone else was either in shock or in confusion or in something else. Even Obi-Wan was staring, his jaw open as he gazed in amazement at Tahl's shimmering form.

"But – But how – " I spluttered, nearly rendered inarticulate by amazement and by gratitude.

Kya's smile widened as she leaned against Obi-Wan. "She is your soulmate, just as Obi-Wan is mine. Soulmates dwell in the netherworld of the Force until such time that the other joins them; they do not move on until then."

She shifted her gaze to Tahl. "I thank you, Tahl, for how you helped me as my guide."

Tahl smiled. "Oh, being your guide was fun in and of itself."

"For your service to the Order of Walkers, my Lady Mother is allowing you a . . . a second chance of sorts, I suppose you could call it. Are you willing to accept it?"

To my confusion, Tahl seemed to comprehend something about that statement immediately that made her eyes widen. Her eyes, which until then I hadn't noticed, that were no longer blind.

"My lady, that will cost you – "

"This is the second sunset," Kya interrupted. "I may as well put it to good use."

Tahl pursed her lips, but she finally nodded. "Yes. And I thank you, for this. You didn't need to do it."

Kya laughed. "Between you and Qui-Gon, the help you have given is extraordinary. You deserve it."

"Kya, what are you planning?" Obi-Wan asked finally, his blue-green eyes focused solely on the girl in his arms.

She turned to him, and I withdrew slightly. I got the feeling that Kya was about to say good-bye to Obi-Wan – and not for a temporary period of time either.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
_I'm so, so sorry._

_For what?_ Obi-Wan asked.

I closed my eyes and prayed for strength. _The second the sun sets, I shall die if I don't go home. So I'm going to go home._

_There's more to it than that_, Obi-Wan said.

I opened my eyes. "One of the powers of a Walker is the ability to raise those who lie in wait in the netherworld of the Force." I gestured to Tahl. "I can give you life again. The chance to live the life you were meant to before you died."

"That goes against every law of nature, of physics, of science!" one Master blustered.

I turned slowly to face the speaker. "So does my existence," I said mildly. "And Anakin's. And the Force's, for that matter."

"Why do you – oh. _Oh_." Obi-Wan's voice got very quiet, as if the Force had suddenly allowed him to understand where I was going with this. His arms suddenly grew tighter around my body, pulling me even closer to him.

For me to give Tahl another chance, I had to allow her another body for her spirit to dwell in. And I would give her mine.

"I'm sorry," I told him softly.

Some emotion flickered in his eyes momentarily. "Don't be," he said. _I will miss you_, he added quietly.

_And I you. Always._

He lowered his head gently as I tilted mine back, and our lips met again in another kiss. This time, though, it didn't have the desperation of before, when we had thought we might never see each other again, or the passion of the beginning, when he had been desperate to prove his love to me.

No, this time it was simple and gentle, the kiss of soulmates who understand each other completely and totally.

_I love you, Obi-Wan Kenobi._

_And I you. And I will wait for you, even if I must wait a century in the netherworld of the Force_, he vowed solemnly.

And then I turned my eyes from Obi-Wan and clasped Tahl's hand within my own. The second the mark on my wrist – the mark of a Walker – touched Tahl's spirit, her whole form rippled as blinding light surrounded us.

Slowly, the sun and the moon on my wrists began to gleam with the silvery light that had appeared when I had called Tahl forth. Slowly, I could feel the Force pouring into me as Tahl began to truly leave the netherworld of the Force and manifest in the real, physical world. And slowly, I felt the life-bond – my life-bond with Obi-Wan – begin to grow dormant, silent, falling away from me as though we were speeding apart at a million lightyears a minute.

Finally, with one final burst of light, my own spirit was displaced from the body. As the body that I had inhabited began to shift and transform to accommodate Tahl's appearance and spirit, I vanished into the Force.

I sped through the stars again, the twinkling, glittering, swirling stars of before. They surrounded me in a snowstorm of brilliant colors, blinding me as they supported my journey back home.

A voice echoed in the Force. _Well done, my daughter. . ._

And then, with one final burst of light, I was home. I had returned. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes to see myself lying in a bunk in the ship of Senator Organa.

For a moment, I just lay there. _I did it. It actually worked!_ I had been worried earlier that I would not be able to complete the ritual, one that usually only fully-trained Walkers attempted. But it appeared that the Force had been with me, for it had actually worked.

But then pain and grief rippled in the Force, and I was on my feet before I knew it.

_Padmé. Oh, my stars, _Padmé_._

I ran out into the corridor. I had nearly forgotten about Padmé and Anakin, and the situation they were in in this, my home universe. Merely three strides down, I nearly ran into C-3PO.

"Oh! Padawan Ranor – you're awake," the protocol droid blustered, sounding confused.

"Where's my Master?" I demanded. "Where are Master Kenobi and Senator Amidala?"

"In the surgical theater," the droid answered after a moment of staring at me. "I do believe that something is wrong with – "

I was off and running long before the droid finished his sentence – or tried to, anyways.


	62. Chapter 60

Before I get any fishy reviews, let me set one thing straight – the relationship between Kya's Master and her is going to stay a father/daughter, Master/Padawan relationship. There will be NO changes in that. And, yes, that was directed at you, my best friend.

* * *

**_Chapter Sixty_**

**19 BBY**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~

I held Padmé's hand, feeling utterly helpless and useless, a feeling I had become more experienced with during this long – and now, I realized, utterly pointless – war. Then the twins were born, and I held Luke so that Padmé could touch her son.

But I could tell that that was about all Padmé was able to do. Her waning presence in the Force, strained and erratic breathing, and nearly closed eyes told me the very thing I was trying so hard to avoid acknowledging – Padmé was dying.

_She is not the first and will certainly not be the last – but, oh, does it _hurt_._

"Obi-Wan?" she breathed suddenly.

I leaned closer, certain that she was going to speak her last words to me. But then, to the great displeasure of the medical droids and the surprise of everyone else, the door flew open and Kya rushed in.

I straightened in shock, forgetting Padmé for an instant. After so long unconscious, my Padawan was finally _awake_?

_But how? And why didn't I sense her waking up?_ I thought, troubled.

It didn't help when Kya ignored everything and everyone else, to my great surprise. Usually she was very observant of everyone around her, entering quietly with her eyes sending cursory glances over everything around her, and usually she tended to stay close to my side.

"Padmé," Kya said, all of her attention focused on the Senator as she came to her other side. "_Padmé_. Hold on. You have twins – they _need_ you – Hold on for them."

Padmé only could shake her head weakly at Kya. "I . . . can't . . ." Her voice trailed off weakly as one her hands came up to grasp something around her neck. Whatever it was, she gripped it as tightly as she gripped my Padawan's hand.

"Kya . . . protect them . . . please." Padmé's voice was weak, but there was an undercurrent of strength – an aura of her using the very last reserves of her energy to beg one final request before she died, to try and assure the future of her children.

My Padawan shook her head, almost desperately. "You'll be there to protect them yourself. Please, Padmé, please. . ."

"I . . . No . . . Promise . . ."

My Padawan raised her eyes to meet mine. Her sapphire eyes were swirling with unshed tears – tears that I was trying to hold back as well.

"I promise," she told Padmé, her voice cracking.

Padmé seemed satisfied by this, although why she would ask Kya was beyond me.

Or . . . perhaps not so much. I was sure that Anakin had told Padmé of the fact that Kya's midi-chlorian count rivaled even his own, and Kya's own skill and fame had been broadcasted over the Holonet right alongside our own.

Kya let go of Padmé's hand and came around to stand by my side. I sent her a comforting wave through our bond, as my arms were occupied by Luke.

But Kya seemed . . . distracted. She didn't respond, which was unlike her. Very much unlike her, actually. Usually, she would have made a face at me for being "overprotective" and would have sent a reassuring feeling in return.

But then Padmé opened her eyes and gasped, "Obi-Wan . . ."

Kya took Luke gently from my arms, cradling the baby in her arms as if she had been born to do it. However, an air of sadness engulfed Kya as she held Luke – a sadness I couldn't quite identify.

I shoved all thoughts out of my mind when Padmé repeated, "Obi-Wan?"

"Padmé . . ."

"There's good in him," she gasped softly. "I know. I know there's . . . still . . ."

And then Padmé Amidala Skywalker – powerful Senator, majestic Queen, loyal wife – breathed her last breath . . . and died.

When she did, simultaneously, both babies – Luke in my Padawan's arms and Leia in the medical droid's – began wailing.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~

I lay in the bunk, staring at the ceiling. In my mind's eye, I was replaying what I had witnessed but a few hours ago – Padmé's death.

_Her last words were to try and persuade my Master to remember the goodness Skywalker _used_ to have._ I shook my head, shaking the image of Padmé's cold, frozen expression out of my mind. _She must have really, really loved him._

Not that I hadn't known that – or guessed that – already. When I had first met Senator Amidala shortly after becoming Master Kenobi's Padawan, I had immediately sensed the powerful bond she shared with Skywalker. Its strength had amazed me, for it had surpassed any bond I had ever sensed before.

However, the bond had _not_ been a life-bond, which had startled me then.

Now, perhaps, the answer was revealed.

_If it had been a true life-bond, then Skywalker would be dead right now._ I sighed. _Looks like the Force planned this all out in the beginning._ Their bond had been as close to a life-bond as one could get, though. But it was not a full one.

I knew it hadn't been because I could still sense Skywalker, could sense the softly burning furnace of rage and anger and pain that he was in the Force.

_My brother._ I turned that thought over in my mind. _By tradition, he is my brother._ I sighed again. _That'll take some time getting used to._

My mind turned to Obi-Wan again. As Lady Elizabeth had told me, the life-bond between us had gone dormant. Even now, when I tried to reach it, I was deflected by the barrier that had settled in the middle, preventing any and all contact.

_I miss him already._

I missed him deeply, all of him. The warmth and strength of his affection. The steadiness of his presence by my side. The way his arms had wrapped lovingly around me, giving me a sense of security that no one else could. The sense of righteousness, of belonging that I had felt whenever I slept beside him. All of that – and so much more.

My thoughts were interrupted by the appearance of my Master. I sat up as he moved to sit in his bunk, which was across from mine.

As Lady Elizabeth had also predicted, my Master remembered nothing of what had transpired. The moment in the Temple had continued without my interruption, smoothly and without a glitch. In his memory, I had been lying unconscious on Senator's Organa's ship right up until I'd woken up to speak to Padmé.

I noted with alarm how tired . . . how _old_ my Master suddenly looked, as if he'd gained a century in years in only the hours that had transpired between Order 66 and now. He had never looked so . . . _defeated_ before, as if every last bit of fight had been crushed out of him. By no means had my Master been the most optimistic person on the team during the wars, but still . . . He'd never looked like this before.

"Master?" I asked tentatively. "Are you . . . Are you all right?"

He looked up and managed a half smile. "Shouldn't I be asking you that?"

"You haven't, so I'm asking you. You going to answer?"

"Cheeky," my Master said warmly. I was relieved to hear the warmth in his tone; at least he hadn't lost everything because of Skywalker's betrayal. "I'm fine. Just a little tired."

I frowned. "Now who's hiding things?"

It was an old joke between us, from a mission that had cemented our Master-Padawan bond. Skywalker and my Master had hid some stuff, important stuff, from me, and I had retaliated by hiding some other information. The hiding had nearly cost us the mission's success, and from then on my Master reprimanded me whenever I tried to hide stuff from him.

My Master managed a full smile this time. "It's the truth. I am tired."

"And worried about me. And worried about everyone else, for that matter. And stressed out. Want me to go on?"

He shook his head. "You've grown impertinent, little one; don't make this a habit." But his tone was mild; I could feel his relief that I could still joke with him.

I cocked my head. "What happened to Senator Amidala?" I questioned.

As I'd expected, my Master stiffened slightly. He worked his jaw several times before he actually spoke, as if his voice didn't want to function for him. "Ana – Vader strangled her. By the time I finished dueling him, she was already dying."

His tone was clipped and short, but I could sense in the agony that pained his heart. Dueling Skywalker had cost my Master greatly. He had always viewed Skywalker as a brother – nearly a son – so that end up nearly killing him had probably cost my Master everything he had to give.

I was actually surprised that my Master didn't hate Skywalker.

But then again, Jedi don't hate.

"He made his choice," I said finally. "We have all made our choices." _And I my own_, I thought with a pang of regret.

My Master shifted restlessly on his bed. _I should have helped him_, came the quiet thought from my Master that I knew he hadn't intended for me to hear. _I should have talked to him before I left – made him see – _

I barely refrained rolled my eyes in despair and frustration. _And his shields have slipped. Lovely._ My Master was known for his control, his ability to maintain his Jedi mask in almost every situation possible. The fact that they had now slipped was not a good sign.

I crossed my arms. "Why are you always blaming yourself for Anakin's decisions, Master?" I asked suddenly.

My Master's head came up, and I could feel his surprise. One, because of my question; two, because now he sensed that I had sensed his thought.

"I'm his Master . . . I should have been able to stop him . . . I should have taught him the _right_ way . . ."

"_Was_ his Master," I corrected irritably. "And what is the right way?"

At this, my Master straightened abruptly and for the first time I saw a glint of anger – hastily concealed – in his eyes.

"Padawan, what has come over you?" he asked, frowning. "You've never been – "

"Like this?" I finished.

He tilted his head. "You're growing in insight, I'll give you that."

I bit my lip, momentarily thrown by my Master's comment – as he had probably intended. "Then let me share some of it." I leaned forward. "Master, Skywalker's choice wasn't your fault and never will be. Yes, you were cold to him in the beginning. Yes, your Master/Padawan relationship got off on a rocky start. And yes, you probably shouldn't have pushed him on attachment so much. But in the end, does that matter so much?"

He started to answer – but I didn't let him.

"No, it doesn't," I answered. "_It doesn't._ This choice was about Anakin Skywalker alone. Not you. Not the Republic. Not the Jedi. Not Palpatine. Not even Padmé. He was thinking about himself and himself only."

"How can you – "

"Say that? Quite easily, Master." I looked away. "I can sense it."

"Vader is dead," my Master said harshly. "He died."

"No, he didn't die. I can still feel him." As I spoke, I reached out to the Force, reaching for the man who, by the loosest definition, was my brother – but only in spirit, and only because of the Force-parentage that we shared.

The connection was established easily. Almost too easily. But I didn't ponder over it; my Master was finally registering my words.

My Master looked at me sharply. "But I thought . . . How can he . . . How . . . How can you sense him?"

"He is in pain," I said finally. "And now sadness. I wager he knows that Padmé's dead."

He watched my face for a moment before sighing. "So he survived. I'm . . . He'll never forgive me for this."

"You cut off his arm and legs, didn't you?" As I spoke, the image of Vader appeared in my mind's eyes – a terrifying figure in a black suit, a husk of the man, of the Jedi he had once been. But he was also in pain, in great pain – even worse than when his mother had died.

My Master looked up sharply. "How did you know?"

I shook my head, and the connection was broken – Vader's image vanished from my mind. "I can see him. He is truly Darth Vader now." I sighed. "He doesn't even . . . If I hadn't known who he was, I would never have guessed. Sidious got his wish – no one will ever know the truth about the connection between Skywalker and Vader."

"Except us," my Master said bitterly.

"Yes. And his children." I flopped back down on my bed, staring at the ceiling. I thought of the sweet child Anakin had been – and I wondered how he had changed from that to become Darth Vader.

"You have grown, Padawan," my Master said suddenly. "And in more ways than one."

I turned my head. "I'm sixteen. I just hit my growth spurt. What'd you expect?"

"I meant your maturity. And the way you look at the world." He studied me for a moment. "You've changed."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure. But when I look at you . . . You're different. It's not a big change, but still . . . I can sense something different about you. Something I can't quite put my finger on." He paused, lowering his voice. "Something that is not something every Jedi has."

"I'm not every Jedi."

"I know." He reached out, his fingers tracing a lingering caress across my forehead. "But you're still my Padawan."

"And you're still my Master. Annoying and right now filled with self-reproach that I'm going to have to kick out of you, but still."

He cracked a smile. "Cheeky."

"Now and forever." I threw him another teasing glance. "That's what you get for taking on another Padawan who was stuck with Skywalker on that mission."

"That was his fault."

"And whose fault was it that I was on the ship and not with you?"

"I thought you would be safe, Padawan."

"Because leaving Skywalker at the controls is _so_ a guarantee of safety," I said sarcastically.

"Don't remind me," my Master said with a sigh, lying down on his own bed. "Good night, little one."

I was about to snap off another cheeky retort when pain suddenly exploded in my abdomen. I sat bolt upright, my hand flying to my stomach . . . which was suddenly bloated and much larger than before. Pain filled me, squeezing my lungs and my heart in a painful grip that I couldn't escape from.

And then there was a hand on my shoulder, and I looked up through watering eyes into the horrified gaze of my Master.


	63. Chapter 61

**_Chapter Sixty-One_**

**19 BBY**

~ _Master __Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
"She's _pregnant_?"

I felt like I was going through a whirlwind of a carousel that was making me repeat things over and over again. We had found the Sith, just as we had thirteen years ago, but in finding the Sith I had lost someone – first Qui-Gon, and now Anakin. And now – And now I had learned that my apprentice was _pregnant_, just like Padmé.

"Yes, and right now she is in labor," the droid said, almost cheerfully.

Pain rippled through the Force then, and I winced as I sensed my Padawan's pain. She wasn't screaming like Padmé had, but the agony rolling through the Force now was as close to that as you could get.

"Why now?" I demanded.

"We had to operate quickly to save the babies."

"Babies?" Senator Organa repeated, his tone overwhelmed.

The droid turned to him. "She's carrying twins," he said simply.

I collapsed into a chair, my legs no longer able to support my body. _Twins. . . She's carrying _twins_. . ._ I put my hand over my face as another wave of pain rolled through the Force. _Oh, Padawan, why didn't you _tell_ me?_

"Will she be okay?" I heard Senator Organa ask.

The medical droid bobbed its head. "She should be fine. The babies have been carried to term, so there should be no permanent harm done."

I stood as the droid left. "How could I miss this?" _How could I miss my Padawan carrying _twins_ to _term_?_

Kya was like my daughter; whenever I wasn't watching over her, she was in the Temple under the gaze of the Masters. We were as close as a Master/Padawan team could get – how could I have not sensed this?

I hadn't even realized something was wrong with Kya until I heard her give off a choked gasp and sit bolt upright. When I ran to her side, I realized how strained her breathing was . . . and I'd seen the blood staining the sheets.

It had only been then that I'd seen the telltale signs of her pregnancy.

"Blame yourself, you must not," Master Yoda said sharply. "Your fault, this is not. Her choice, this is. Move on to bigger issues we must."

I inhaled and exhaled slowly as his words sank in. _Yes – bigger issues._

I felt my gaze harden. Bigger issues indeed – like who the father was . . . and how my sixteen-year-old Padawan had managed to hide a nine-month pregnancy from me, the Council, and everyone else.

I turned my gaze to the door where – behind it – my Padawan was giving birth.

_Oh, yes, I will get those answers. And if anyone has hurt her in doing this . . . _

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
_I hate medical wings_, I thought, sitting up slowly. This room was no different from the rooms in the Jedi Temple healing wing – cold, gray, and annoying. The droids running it here were equally annoying.

I mean, the second I sat up, I had to wave away at least three of them.

"No, no pain relievers." The Force would give me all the relief I needed; it was one of the most basic Jedi exercises, washing away pain.

"No, I don't need food." I wasn't hungry.

"No, go away," I snapped, finally irritated beyond my patience.

I leaned against the headboard and sighed. _Oh, I wish you were here, my love._ If anything, Obi-Wan would have known exactly what to say to calm my impatience, would have known what to say to make me laugh again.

But I would have also wanted him to see our children – the two daughters, our twin children.

I knew, without a doubt, that Obi-Wan was the father. There could be no other. And while I was still confused about how little time had elapsed between the conception and the birth, I knew everything else with dead certainty.

One of the not so annoying droids slipped one of my daughters into my arms. The other daughter slept peacefully in the makeshift cradle.

I reached out to the Force and was delighted to feel the faint yet answering wave from the child in my arms. _She is Force-sensitive. She can be a Jedi._

But then my heart sank. A Jedi, in this galaxy? Right now? _What am I thinking? She would be an outcast, a hunted enemy of the Empire – and a target for the Sith._ I hugged her a little closer to my chest. _Maybe training her as a Jedi is not what I should do._

I turned my gaze to my other daughter. There had been no answering wave from her – that, or it was so faint that she wasn't considered Force-sensitive.

That confused me a little. My daughters had two Jedi as parents, two Force-sensitives with high midi-chlorian counts. Most laws of science would agree that because of that any children born to us would be Force-sensitive as well by default.

_Well, that's another law of science that's been disproved by me_, I thought resignedly.

"Padawan?"

I looked up to see my Master enter the room in a swirl of brown robes. His eyes were full of concern and full of questions, but the concern vanished once he realized that I was not in any remote danger.

Unfortunately, when he saw the daughter cradled in my arms, the questions returned full force.

"How?" he asked softly.

I shook my head slowly. "I don't know. I really don't. It all happened so fast. . ."

A brief flicker of irritation crossed my Master's face. "I meant, how did you hide it from us – from all of us – Padawan. Not how it happened."

"Ah. Well, um . . . I don't know," I confessed. "I didn't even know until . . . until . . ."

I trailed off as my Master straightened, sensing the truth in my words. "You didn't know?" he exclaimed.

I shook my head.

"But . . . But . . ." I could see that my Master was growing more confused by the second. "The droids say that you carried the children to term, Padawan. For nine months. How could you not know?"  
I stared. _Nine _months_? More like nine days!_ Or perhaps, a few more, but certainly less than a single month – much less nine months!

When he sensed that I wasn't going to answer, he moved on. "Who is the father?" he demanded abruptly, his eyes flashing.

I sensed how his protective instinct had been aroused, and I fought back a sigh. _Oh, joy. He thinks I've been violated or something. . . How do I tell him anything without sounding like a mentally unstable idiot?_

I had just opened my mouth when my Master said softly, "Did he hurt you?"

I stared. There was steel in my Master's tone – the steel of one who is ready to leap to your defense at a single word. Yep, my Master definitely thought someone had violated me.

"No. This was my choice."

The Force rippled around him as he reached out, and I lowered my shields enough so that he could sense that I spoke the absolute truth. He relaxed slightly, closing his eyes briefly. I could sense his relief at my answer.

But soon enough his Jedi reflexes kicked in. He slipped off the bed and started pacing the room. "You do know that this is against the Jedi Code, then?"

"Yes."

"And that you . . ." He whirled around. "Why, Kya? Why? You of all people I would have least expected this from!"

I tried to speak, but he overrode me.

"I know that you are by nature reserved and impulsive, but this is something even from you! You, who have always dreamed to follow in my footsteps, and in the footsteps of the Jedi Masters." He ran a hand over his face. "I don't understand. Nothing makes sense anymore."

He stopped pacing and looked straight at me. His tone turned brisk and authoritative – the tone of a Jedi Master, the tone of a father doing what he thought best to protect his daughter. "You are hiding something, Kya, and I intend to find out what it is. Now."

"I can't tell you," I blurted out, alarmed at the idea of my Master pressing my mind for answers. I could hold him off, power-wise, for I was stronger, but that would reveal my true strength – and might accidentally hurt him in the meantime.

He stepped closer to me. "Why not? What has you so scared that you won't tell me?" When I didn't answer, he tentatively reached out and touched my arm. "You trust me so much, and yet so little. How did you become such a puzzle, little one?"

I looked away, hurt by his words but unsure as to how to respond. "It's not that I don't trust you. . ."

He sat on the bed, and he turned my head gently. "Then what is it?" he asked softly.

I looked down.

He sighed, frustrated, and retracted his hand. "This is so . . . bizarre." His tone turned sad, reflective. "A Master is supposed to protect his Padawan. Why is it that I can never protect you, little one? Why is it that you are always the one getting hurt?"

That made my head come right up again, and I gazed at my Master, startled. "I'm not hurt."

"Not physically," he replied evenly. "But spiritually . . . There is a difference there. You have changed, Padawan, and I'm not sure if it's for the better or the worse."

"Aren't you the one who said change is always for the best, whether we like it or not?"

He sighed again. "Yes. But . . . But such things are easier said than done."

"Master . . . I'm sorry. I truly am. But I know nothing more than you right now. I don't know what's going on, or how this came to be, or why. However, I can assure you that I am not hurt."

He turned to look at me, and there was a strange sadness in his gaze. "Not yet," he murmured. "But all I see in the years to come is pain and sadness for you."

Before I could react, he shook his head. "Forgive me; I'm just rambling now. You need your rest, Padawan." He leaned forward and kissed my forehead gently. "Sleep well."

Then, in a swirl of brown and cream, he was gone and I was alone.

Well, not quite.

"Lady Mother."

There was a flash of silver light, and my Lady Mother materialized from the shadows next to the cradle. She looked exactly the same as she had in the netherworld of the Force, except that she sparkled a lot less.

"My daughter," she acknowledged, stepping closer. She glanced at my daughters. "You have fine children."

"How, though?" I demanded desperately. "_How?_ It's barely been a month since Obi-Wan and I consummated the bond – "

"Time means nothing to the Force," my Lady Mother said simply. "Tahl told you that the longer you stayed, the more you aged and that is true." She gestured to the daughter who lay asleep in my arms. "But you weren't the only one who aged."

"You mean . . . the whole time . . . I've been pregnant for the _whole time_?"

"Yes and no."

"Yes and no?"

"Yes, the seed was planted for all that time," she explained. "But no, because usually we do not age physically – no matter how many years have been accumulated – until we return to our home universe. Then the age hits rapidly, and our bodies grow to accommodate the years we have gained within a very short period of time. It puts great stress on us, and it is why you felt pain that was much stronger than any normal childbirth."

"So I aged . . . about nine, ten months?"

"Actually, more like a year and a half, my daughter."

My jaw dropped. I was now physically about seventeen? "No wonder my Master sensed something different about me," I said after I had recovered from my shock.

My Lady Mother smiled. "He is a powerful Jedi, my daughter. It is the reason he seems to be a better match for you as a Master than your former one. He has tasted the power and the darkness before because he is so like you; that is why he could guide you so well."

"But he's not completely like me."

"Yes. You have powers he never had and never will, and now especially, you know things that he does not know – and that you should not tell him."

"What? Why?"

"It is not the time for him to know," she said simply. "All things have their time."

"So how come it's all right for me, a sixteen-year-old apprentice, to know things a Master twice my age in years and experience cannot?" I asked. My Master was not a Walker, yes, but he was an honorable Jedi – one I felt could be trusted with the knowledge I had begun learning.

"He will learn them in his own time. Be patient."

"You make it seem that just because he's not a Walker he has flaws that are far greater than our own, and that he's not worthy of knowing this stuff," I stated sourly.

But my Lady Mother was shaking her head. "Walkers generally are more powerful, are stronger, and are wiser than our mortal counterparts, yes. But we do have flaws. Fewer flaws, but often ones that have greater repercussions. One of them is the fact that it is much harder for us to conceive and then bear children."

"Oh. Sure." I crossed my arms. "Then why is it that I conceived twins so easily?"

"The Force must intend something for your children," she said with a shrug. "Something beyond even your ability to bring about. But do not expect this to always happen. Walkers usually do not have children, and twins are even rarer. Your children will be very powerful."

"Um . . . okay." I looked down at the child in my arms. "I wish Obi-Wan could see them. . ."

"He will. Or, at least, one of them."

I looked up. "What do you mean?"

She sighed. "I didn't come here just for pleasantries, my daughter. It is the will of the Force that one child be raised at her father's side, while one remains with you."

My heart contracted, and I instinctively cradled my daughter closer. "But – But why?"

My Lady Mother's blue eyes were unreadable. "I do not know. That is merely what I have come to say."

"So I must lose one of my children?"

"Lose? No. But not see her for a while? Yes."

"Why?"

My Lady Mother was silent for a moment. Then she said slowly, "Your bond with him is strong, my daughter . . . but not strong enough. You must have a tangible connection to him, and to the other universe, for you to be able to return one day." She gestured shortly. "Your daughter will form that connection, as she carries the mix of your blood and his."

"Oh."

"And she will be safe. Safe from the Sith. Safe from the Empire. Your mate will protect her." I could hear the silent plea in my Lady Mother's voice, and suddenly I knew which child she wanted me to choose, to offer up for this . . . to lose.

"You want me to give Obi-Wan – "

"Yes. It makes sense, my daughter. As a Jedi, she will grow up in a safe, secure, balanced galaxy. Your mate will protect her, and you will not have to worry about the Sith targeting her. She will have a real, full education in the Jedi arts. She will be safe."

I leaned back and considered her reasons. They were all good reasons, actually, reasons I couldn't counter.

Obi-Wan's universe _was_ safe – Anakin and I had made it so.

Obi-Wan would protect my daughter, just as he had protected me.

My daughter would indeed get a better education at Obi-Wan's hands than if she stayed here, where Jedi were hunted.

And while she would still be in danger – the life of a Jedi was always dangerous – she would be a lot safer there than here.

Finally, I said, "All right. I agree."

My Lady Mother relaxed completely. She snapped her fingers, and a breeze washed over me – a breeze turned into a wave of silver light. I felt like I was falling, and I cradled my daughter closer. And then, with a burst of light, I found myself back on Naboo.


	64. Chapter 62

Okay, so we are back in the other universe, so this Obi-Wan Kenobi is Kya's lover and mate, not her Master.

To GalaxyPink: Here is the chapter where I detail Obi-Wan's reaction. The twins' names are Aurora and Winter, and you'll find out who is who in this chapter.

To Smartyskirt28: The answer to your plea is posted at the end of this chapter.

* * *

**_Chapter Sixty-Two_**

**32 BBY**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I wandered in the garden, not noticing the warm sunlight, glittering waters, or lovely flowers. I didn't really notice anything, actually. My mind was lost in thought.

I didn't notice the warm sunlight because I was remembering the warmth of my lover's skin against mine.

I didn't notice the glittering waters because I was recalling the way my lover's eyes had glittered.

I didn't notice the lovely flowers because I was recollecting the beauty of my lover.

The Council – minus Master Windu and Master Yoda – had already returned to Coruscant, to help provide some direction for the new elections. They had said something about stabilizing Naboo after Sidious's attacks, but I knew better.

They were really here to see how I was faring, what with the disappearance of Kya.

I missed her. I really did. Nothing in the universe could hide that. Her not being here, by my side, was like a thorn in my heart.

Qui-Gon was here too, with Tahl and Anakin. I had already spoken with Tahl, and she was just as witty and brilliant and understanding as I remembered. But even her wisdom wasn't enough to lift this pain from my heart.

The life-bond was dormant now; silent and small. So small that I could barely sense that Kya was alive, much less anything else. Even in meditation, it remained small, and anything I tried to send through was rebounded.

_I miss you._ I had spoken truly to Kya – I would always miss her, and I would always wait for her. But mere words did not satisfy the gaping hole in my heart – the hole left by her vacating it.

"Miss me?"

I was already whirling before the second word was spoken. _I know that voice._ My heart leaped into my throat. My mind was numb, unmoving, still. I couldn't believe it. And yet –

And yet my instincts told true.

For there Kya was, standing not ten feet from me. She was dressed in a silky, flowing silver gown of some strange material that shimmered with every little movement. Her long brown hair cascaded down her shoulders and back, framing her glowing sapphire eyes.

I ran towards her, grabbing her waist and lifting her off the ground to spin her in a triumphant circle. She laughed, a relaxed, musical sound that sent tingles down my spine. But by the time I let her down, I was laughing too.

And then I pulled her against my chest, and embraced her so tightly that I knew she was probably having troubles breathing.

She laughed again in my ear, softly, and pulled back ever so slightly so that our eyes could meet. When they did, I couldn't help myself – I leaned forward and kissed her, hard and desperately. She allowed me, kissing me back as her arms tightened around my neck.

"Are you here to stay?" I murmured in her ear.

Kya hesitated before shaking her head against my shoulder.

"No, she isn't, Obi-Wan Kenobi," said a majestic, powerful voice.

I stiffened at the sound of the voice, alarmed. I shifted instinctively, so that Kya was shielded by me, and tensed, ready to protect her. I pulled her against me, wrapping her in my arms so that she was crushed against me – but protected.

However, all of that was for naught.

The woman who had spoken shimmered into view. She wore flowing silver robes, like Kya, but somehow her robes seemed . . . different, more regal, more suited to her than on Kya. A lightsaber hung on the sash that encircled her waist.

But that wasn't what captured my interest.

What captured my interest was the babe the woman held in her arms.

Kya pulled away from me with a sigh. Stepping forward, she reached out and took the baby from the woman, who then stepped back.

I frowned. _Why does Kya have a child here? And who is that woman?_

Confused, I stepped to Kya's side, peering down at the child. The baby was asleep, but she seemed to sense my presence, for the second I slipped my arm around Kya's waist, the baby's eyes opened to gaze directly at me.

The shock of meeting those clear sapphire eyes set into that baby's face jolted any other thoughts out of my head.

Without thinking, without considering, without speaking, I reached out to touch the baby. An electric shock coursed up my arm the second my finger touched her skin, and I jumped in shock.

"Impossible. . ." I whispered.

This couldn't be – for those were Kya's eyes, all right, but there was a sense of . . . a sense of _me_ around the babe . . . as if she was my child too.

"No, it's not," Kya said, turning to me.

I raised my eyes to my lover. "Ours? You were . . . You were pregnant?"

Kya smiled faintly. "Apparently so."

"But how? It's only been – "

"Walkers don't conceive very well, but once we do, often we age. And when we age – when I was dying – the children aged as well."

I frowned again. "Children?"

"I had twins."

I gaped. _Twins?_

But Kya didn't give me any time to ponder anything else anymore. She held out the child. "Don't you know how to hold a baby, Obi-Wan?"

I took the child from her, awkwardly yet quickly. The baby snuggled in my hold, sighing contentedly and closing her eyes again. Now that I held her, I could sense it without a single whit of doubt – yes, this child was mine.

The child was ours.

"But – But why – " I stuttered, looking from my lover to the other woman.

She stepped forward. "I am Lady Elizabeth – and I am a Walker," she said swiftly. "The child you hold is indeed yours – and Kya's. I have brought Kya and the child here because Kya's universe is much too fragile and dangerous for Kya to raise a Force-sensitive child."

"You want me to raise her," I realized. "Here."

Kya closed her eyes briefly, as if the words pained her – which they probably did. No doubt she wanted to keep our children close to her, as every mother would. "Yes," she said softly. "It will be safer here." She opened her eyes. "And I know you will protect her."

"Kya . . ." _What I really want to protect is you, my love._

"I know," Kya said. She smiled bitterly. "But we can't always have what we want, can we?"

I sighed. _Be safe. Be safe until you return. Be safe, for me. . ._

She hugged me gently, careful not to disturb our sleeping child, and kissed me lightly. "I will," she said, her tone so soft that had it not been for the gentle breath against my ear, I wouldn't have been sure she had spoken. "Take care of Aurora."

Then she stepped back and took Lady Elizabeth's hand. With an explosive burst of silver light, the two vanished, and I sensed the life-bond become dormant yet again. _She has returned home._

As if sensing that her mother was gone, the child – Aurora – started awake in my arms and mewled quietly.

I rocked her gently, reaching out with the Force to soothe her. To my surprise, the faint threads of a bond were beginning to form already. Not a life-bond and not a training bond – a different type, but one I had never sensed before.

But whatever it was, Aurora seemed okay with sensing me in her mother's place. She stopped crying and gazed at me through blue eyes that were – now, I could see better – actually lighter than her mother's. Not the clear deepness of sapphire, but the lighter beauty of aquamarine.

"Obi-Wan?"

I turned at the sound of Qui-Gon's voice. The elder Jedi was walking swiftly towards me, and I knew that he had been looking for me.

"Obi-Wan, finally. I – "

Qui-Gon skidded to a halt when he saw Aurora in my arms, and his dark blue eyes went wide. I knew he could sense the faint bond between my daughter and me, and I could practically see the gears turning in his head as he tried to figure out what – and how – this had happened.

"Obi-Wan, what in blazes is going on?" he demanded finally.

I sighed. "This is Aurora. She's my daughter."

"Why – But – But _how_ – "

I shrugged. "I'm not quite sure. . . But she is Kya's – and mine."

Qui-Gon hesitantly stepped closer. Aurora's eyes snapped from me to Qui-Gon, and fear suddenly emanated from the child. Startled, Qui-Gon halted again as I reached out to soothe Aurora's fears yet again.

"She looks like Kya," Qui-Gon said after a moment. "And she's Force-sensitive, isn't she?"

I nodded.

"You want her to become a Jedi," Qui-Gon stated, his eyes snapping up to meet mine.

"Yes. Her mother and I both want it. She will be safer h – that way."

Qui-Gon sighed and shook his head, but I caught a glimpse of his smile. "Well, if anything can be said, Kya is anything but boring. Come on. Let's go talk to the Masters, shall we?"

**Later . . . **

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~

I stood on the balcony, thinking, and almost absently cradling Aurora. The Masters had been startled to realize that the child was mine – and Kya's – and I had quite enjoyed the look of blank shock that had crossed Master Yoda's face. After all, it wasn't every day that the Grand Master of the Jedi Order was at a loss for words.

Kya seemed to have a talent for causing that shock, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

But in any case – once they had recovered from their shock – they had tested Aurora's midi-chlorian count . . . much to my daughter's displeasure. She hadn't wanted to be separated from me, and during the test had proved that she had very healthy lungs indeed. The healer had been almost completely exasperated by Aurora – and then, of course, had been amazed by how quickly the child had quieted when returned to me.

The testing had confirmed two things. Firstly, it had waved away any doubt that Aurora was the child of my child. And secondly, it had also confirmed that Aurora had a high midi-chlorian count. Not as high as her mother's or even Anakin's, but certainly higher than my own and high enough to make her considered very strong in the Force.

After some debate, the Masters had reluctantly agreed to allow Aurora to become a Jedi. Their hesitation was not born of anything but the simple fact that they feared I would become too attached to the child – or she to me.

Tahl had brushed off their concerns. There was going to be attachment no matter what they did, she had pointed out, and if they refused, it would sour the relationships between Aurora and me, Aurora and the Jedi, and put a strain on me as it forced me to choose between my loyalty to the Jedi and my affection for my daughter and Kya.

That could only lead to the dark side, for Aurora . . . and possibly even for me.

It would be better, she had advised, to accept and train Aurora on how to deal with those emotions – and in the end, she might understand the dangers of attachment and how to deal with them better than any other Jedi, simply because she had firsthand experience.

The Masters had agreed to her after yet another round of debate, and I had found myself fervently thanking her for what she had done – for me, for Aurora, and for Kya.

But Tahl had merely smiled and shooed me away. She had said that it was only right that she begin to repay some of what she owed Kya.

I looked down at my daughter, who was blinked sleepily at me before drifting off, and smiled.

_You are so much like your mother that it hurts_, I thought, even though Aurora couldn't hear me. _Ah, but it only she could be here to see you grow up. . ._

Love, I decided, had as many joys as it did regrets. But it was worth it – the little bundle in my arms proved that beyond a doubt. I had lost Kya for a time, perhaps – but I had my daughter.

Looking up at the sunset, I vowed, _And I will always love you, Kya Ranor._

* * *

**19 BBY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I slipped out of my bed and scooped up Winter, my other daughter, before coming to stand at in front of the window. As far as the eye could see, there were only stars and stars and more stars. Stars and countless planets and billions of people.

I sighed. _And to think that once I dreamed of seeing all of those stars, going to all of those planets, and meeting all of those people._ No, that was not my dream – not anymore. I had found where I belonged, and it wasn't wandering around the universe.

No, it was much simpler than that – but it brought greater joys than anything I had thought possible.

I looked down at the sleeping baby in my arms and smiled. Winter had not yet opened her eyes, but I already had a pretty good guess as to what color they would be – the bright blue of her father's eyes.

As I returned my gaze to the window, the life-bond suddenly flared to life in the back of my mind, startling me so much that I nearly dropped the baby.

Obi-Wan's voice rang in my mind, strong and clear and full of love. _And I will always love you, Kya Ranor._

I smiled. Even though I knew he couldn't hear it, wouldn't hear it, I whispered softly, "And I love you, Obi-Wan Kenobi."

_We will not see each other for many years to come, but our love will remain strong. And it will never ever waver._

_**The End**_

* * *

No, just kidding! This isn't the end of Another Past quite just yet. I shall post the interlude in a while, and then get to work touching up the real ending chapters of this story. Thanks to everyone who's stayed with me so far!


	65. Interlude

**_Interlude_**

[Excerpts from the journal of Jedi Padawan Kya Ranor]

_**19 BBY**_

**Entry:  
**Today I observed the funeral of Padmé Naberrie Amidala . . . Skywalker. My mind is having a lot of trouble accepting the fact that she is dead, and that . . . that Anakin Skywalker is the one who killed her.

So many things whirl through my mind now that are sentences that seem to loom over my head with the implications. The Jedi Order is dead, fallen, gone. The Republic has been replaced. The Sith rule the galaxy once more.

I never thought that I would ever live to see the end of the Jedi Order, much less be one of the last survivors.

My Master, Master Yoda, Senator Organa, and I met last night to discuss what to do with the three children aboard our ship. Two of them are the Skywalker twins that Padmé delivered before dying, and the other . . . the other is my own child, Winter.

At first I was puzzled over the fact that neither of my children have the brown or ginger hair of their parents. Neither Obi-Wan nor I have the red-gold hair of Aurora or the white hair of Winter. But while Winter will grow up in this galaxy of war and fighting, Aurora will not. She is with her father, in a galaxy that I helped right.

I chose her to stay with her father because she is the Force-sensitive one of the two. My Master wanted her to be the one to remain, but we cannot train a Jedi right now; it would be too dangerous. The Emperor would sense her, and that would endanger all of us. So she will be safer with her father, who will raise her as a Jedi in the Order that is now much better off.

My Master and Master Yoda were forced to take my word for this, because they do not know who the father is; that, I believe, in one secret they cannot learn. They know that I went back to another version of the past, and they know that I have helped right it, but other than that I could tell them little. They are not ready to learn of my power to raise those who lie in wait in the Force, like Tahl, and they are not ready to learn some of the new things I will learn, now I have grown into my role and ability to walk the different universes.

Anyway, now that I've gotten so carried away, Padmé's daughter, Leia Amidala Skywalker, will be adopted into the royal house of Alderaan. Senator Organa and his wife will make good parents for her, and I have little doubt that Leia will go into politics like her mother – and now adoptive father – before her. Padmé's son, Luke Skywalker, will be taken to Tatooine to be raised by Anakin's stepbrother and his wife, Owen and Beru Lars. My Master will take him there, and watch over him.

My daughter, it was decided, shall enter the court of Alderaan as well. She and Leia will be raised together, but Winter will not be adopted as Leia will. Winter also will bear no last name. She cannot bear either Ranor or Kenobi, for both of us are too well-known. I will travel with Senator Organa to Alderaan, and spend the first ten or so years there, protecting Leia, Winter, and the Organas from spies and assassins, should the Emperor take that course of action.

My Master is unhappy that I shall be apart from him, as he wants me to take the Trials and be Knighted. But it cannot be helped; we cannot risk leaving either of Padmé's children unprotected with the Sith ruling the galaxy. So we have compromised. I shall spend ten or so years on Alderaan until I feel that Leia is old enough to protect herself. Also, by then she will be out in the public eye of the Empire, and I cannot reveal myself to them. So whenever Leia goes to Coruscant, I shall travel to Tatooine and stay with my Master. I will travel back and forth.

May the Force be with us all.

_**11 BBY**_

**Entry:  
**Tonight I defended Leia against an assassin. I'm exhausted now, but I can't sleep. I don't sleep too much anymore. I will only rest when Leia is with her parents, secluded in lessons or something else. I trust Queen Breha to protect her then.

But at night and during the day I am very watchful of Leia and Winter. They are never out of my sight. I know where they are at all times, and also know all potential openings for attackers and potential places I can hide in so that I can defend against these attackers.

I sensed the assassin during dinner, but could not find pinpoint him or her. His shielding was very bad. It was only when my probe touched him that he recoiled and shielded better. He was clever. He somehow managed to either slip past or kill every single guard that protected the hallways leading up to Leia's chambers. He thought that I would attack immediately, as soon as he revealed himself, and so he let his guard down when he entered Leia's room because he thought that I had already been killed with the guards.

Just as he was about to kill Leia, I dropped down from my hiding place and engaged him in lightsaber combat. When our fight woke Leia, I used the Force to make her run and stay with her parents. It cost me to do this, but it would have cost me more if Leia had stayed.

With Leia safely out of the way, I gave the assassin no quarter and was able to defeat him when I brought the full power of my will and training to bear. But before I could take control of him with the Force and confirm my suspicions that Vader or the Emperor had sent him, he committed suicide. It was then that Bail, Breha, and Leia burst in with guards aplenty.

Thank the Force I had already put away my lightsaber. But I could not stay, for my Jedi robes were very distinguishing and only Bail and Breha could know that the court of Alderaan harbored a Jedi. I leaped away and did not emerge until the three were alone in Bail and Breha's private chambers. Then I emerged.

I could see gratitude written all over Breha's face, and the confusion on Leia's. She had realized that I was a Jedi, and said that she had been taught that the Empire had destroyed all of us.

I told her that that, along with many other claims of the Empire, was false. When she asked why I was here, I answered that I had promised her mother that I would defend her with my life. Leia was startled by this, and Breha quickly assured Leia that I had indeed made such a promise. I mean, I have made such a promise – just not to Breha. It was made to Padmé, on her deathbed.

Bail thanked me feverishly, over and over, for protecting Leia. I told him that it the least I could do, since he risked so much to harbor me. Leia then asked me how long I had watched over her. I replied that I had watched over her since the moment of her birth. She retorted that she had never seen me before. I laughed at that, and told her if that a Jedi does not want to be seen, we are not seen.

Breha then asked me to teach Leia some self-defense, just in case another assassin struck at a time that I was not around. I said that I was willing to, but if the Empire realized that Leia was using Jedi techniques, it could dangerous. Bail said that as long as Leia learned some self-defense, it was fine.

Leia agreed enthusiastically, and I relented. After Breha hustled a very excited and tired Leia back to bed, Bail pulled me aside and said that Darth Vader was coming in three days.

I froze at this. Bail then went on to say he knew that Jedi could 'read' people's minds. He wanted me to ensure that if Vader somehow came across Leia, he would not be able to probe her mind. I assured him that I would teach Leia this as well, and that I would personally erect shields around her most intimate memories.

**Entry:  
**I am so nervous. Vader is here. He came a day earlier than Bail said he would. I am in deep hiding, and have severed my connection with the Force for now.

Vader can never know that I am here.

I am very annoyed at this. With Imperial presence here, I can no longer stay as close to Leia, Winter, and Breha as I would have liked to. And I am cut off from the Force now – Vader would sense it if I allowed my connection to remain – so if I am caught, my Master will never know in time to aid us. But he will know eventually, all right. A Jedi caught being harbored on Alderaan against the express orders of the Empire – the Emperor and Vader would have a field day. It would the very charge they would need to assume full control of Alderaan, and it would alert the Empire too early that some Jedi, at least, have survived the Purge.

I pray that it will never come to that.

But at least Leia and Winter have never been alone with Vader. Vader has only seen them when the whole court is present. Vader has mainly dealt with Bail or Bail and Breha. He is trying not to do anything that could be used to fuel the Rebellion.

But fear claws at me. I know that if anything happens to the children because I was not there, I will regret it forever. Yet I cannot show myself, for Vader will recognize me.

I pray that he will leave quickly.

_**7 BBY**_

**Entry:  
**Leia has been elected to the Senate. She will now accompany Bail to Coruscant whenever the Senate meets, even though the Senate is really just a . . . face, a name. It no longer truly exists. It died the day Palpatine first assumed emergency powers.

Leia has never been told this. We have told her next to nothing about how Palpatine rose to power. It would break her heart to know that her birth mother, Padmé, was the one who started Palpatine's rise to power in the Republic by calling for the vote of no confidence in former Chancellor Finis Valorum. I pray that she will never know, for I know that Leia would make a fine future leader of a new democracy, and I do not want her mother's past mistakes to destroy her chance.

Leia already has sympathies for the Alliance to Restore the Republic, which is called the Rebel Alliance now. I am glad she does. After all, her adoptive father was one of the founding people.

Leia also knows that my Master survived the Purges. But that is basically all she knows. We have confided in her that he lives as a hermit on Tatooine, but I have not told her why.

She is not ready to know that much yet.

I am very proud of Leia, and of my daughter, who has also proven her worth. Although the Force chose to not grant Winter with Force-sensitivity, it did give Winter a special boon and burden – she has a perfect memory. Once she learns something, she never forgets it. Winter will act as Leia's aide for now, and, unbeknownst to the Empire, a recorder of everything said and done.

Bail will bring Leia to Coruscant tomorrow, and I will depart for Tatooine. I have lingered here for a very long time, longer than the ten years I promised. I know that my Master is eager to see me again, and I am eager to see him. I have missed him dearly.

_**1 BBY**_

**Entry:  
**Well, well, well. Leia is now officially the Senator for Alderaan, and the youngest Senator ever to be elected, just her mother was one of the youngest Queens ever elected of Naboo. Padmé would have been so proud of her daughter had she lived to see this moment.

Now that both Leia and Luke are older and don't need watching every second as they did when they were younger, I am more relaxed at letting them out of my sight. I have taught Leia almost everything I know of self-defense, although I impressed upon her not to use certain tactics unless it is a life or death situation, because those ones are ones that require intense concentration and drilling. They are techniques that only Jedi know and use, and Vader would recognize them if she used them. Leia also has great aim, and has inherited Padmé's powerful tongue. She is almost a living embodiment of her mother, save one trait.

Leia is very impulsive, just like her father. Oh, it is a delight to reflect on how much Leia is like her birth parents. She has grown and changed so much.

Winter is different from Leia. Leia can be so much a tomboy that people have mistaken my daughter for the Princess Leia Organa. I can understand that, though. Winter is calm and collected, and carries herself with the regality of a Jedi.

I guess my daughter inherited the best traits of both of _her_ parents. And I suppose that Leia does not really have a female role model. Winter is her friend, not her role model, and Breha died a few years ago. And I am not a role model, and especially not one that is calm and collected. Leia only knows me as her teacher and protector; she has only seen me instruct her in self-defense and fighting against attackers. Neither opening lets me be calm and collected. How do you be calm and collected when you are trying to protect someone against an attacker?

But Leia is confident and assured, able to hold her own against her opponents and the Empire, which is good. And she knows that she is loved by everyone here.

_**0 ABY**_

**Entry:  
**I record this in shock. My mind reels from the events that have occurred yesterday. Yesterday, I was returning to Tatooine. I grew a little nervous when my Master didn't meet me. He usually always does, although we do not say anything until we are away from the crowd.

Once we are away, then we can speak of what has happened when we were apart. My Master and I are close, like father and daughter, and we are prone to tease each other about what has happened in our time apart.

So I was concerned when he did not meet me. He had known I would be arriving. I was worried that something might have happened to him, but I felt no distress or pain in the Force. Of course, _I_ felt distress and pain. My coming was not born of the usual annual visits, but to bring information to my Master. The Alliance had been receiving some strange reports of a woman who displayed Jedi-like abilities, and who called herself the 'Emperor's Hand'.

I had no doubt that Palpatine was training another Sith, and wanted to make sure that my Master knew of this so that we could protect Luke from her.

When I finally beheld the sight of my Master's dwelling, I was perplexed by the speeder there until I recognized it as belonging to Luke. I was still confused, though. My Master had had little direct contact with Luke, as Owen was afraid that he would 'corrupt' Luke. So if Luke was there with my Master, that meant that something had happened to one of them.

My fears were laid to rest, though, when my Master sensed me and came out to greet me. He then told me that Luke had been attacked by Tusken Raiders and he had rescued him. He also confessed that he had told Luke his true identity as Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.

I was less than pleased with this – I was not at all in agreement with my Master that Luke was ready for this – and playfully threatened my Master. I was very surprised when Luke came dashing out and tried to attack me, thinking my threat real. Luke had never known that I came to Tatooine or even that I existed, for I had never met him in person.

That also meant that Luke had no way of knowing that my Master and I were close and that I was just teasing.

But Luke was no Jedi, and with the Force as my ally I had no trouble disarming and defeating him. When he'd tried to get back up after I'd pulled away his weapon, I'd emphasized my point by igniting my own lightsaber. _That_ certainly got Luke's attention, and I watched him as he realized that I was a Jedi too.

My Master intervened then, and Luke had gotten to his feet, apologetic and wary. It was then that I had realized that the weapon I had pulled away from Luke was also a lightsaber – to be specific, _Anakin's_ lightsaber. I had approved of my Master's plan to one day start Luke on the path of the Jedi, but had vehemently disapproved of him deciding to let Luke's first weapon be Anakin's last one. The blood of so many are on that blade, from Jedi and Sith to Separatist and Republic. I do not think it proper that the weapon wielded by our last hope for salvation is the very weapon that was used to create our need for salvation.

Luke, of course, did not sense my disapproval. I did not speak of it, though I did shoot a disapproving glance in my Master's direction. But I did not speak of it because was not – and still isn't – my place to do so.

I'd introduced myself to Luke after handing the lightsaber back, and then sat with a tense body as I'd listened to Leia's message. I was horrified by this turn of events, even though I knew had I been there Leia would have gotten into more trouble for harboring a Jedi.

But that didn't stop the guilt that welled up within me.

My Master decided that we should go to Alderaan and speak with Bail, for there was no other way for us to get in touch with him and bring him the droid . . . and the news of Leia. Luke's aunt and uncle had been killed by the Empire, so Luke decided to come along with us. They arranged passage to Alderaan with the ship the _Millennium Falcon_.

I had let my Master instruct Luke while I'd sat and watched, and often spoke to my Master through our bond. He had firmly told me that what had happened to Leia was no fault of mine, and to move on as a Jedi should.

The captain of this ship, Captain Han Solo, considered all three of us strange, calling the Force 'a hokey religion'. I had not responded, as watching over Leia and Winter had given me patience aplenty.

It was then that both my Master and I had felt the screams echoing in the Force. We discovered why when Solo brought us out of hyperspace – Alderaan was destroyed.

I remember nearly crying as I saw the chunks of rock Alderaan had become. Alderaan had had no weapons. It had been so peaceful, so beautiful, glowing in the Living Force with an intensity I haven't sensed since I last went to Naboo. And it was so like Naboo too, with people dedicated to peace and beauty. Now all were dead.

I can only thank the Force that my Winter was not among the dead, for she was with the Rebel Alliance.

After a series of long and tiring events, we managed to rescue Leia and make our way to the _Falcon_. But my Master was forced to sacrifice himself so as to ensure our escape.

That sight, along with many others in this war, will be burned into my memory forever. To watch my beloved Master be cut down by the man we had hailed as his best friend, his brother, and the Jedi's Chosen One – our supposed hero – was agony of the depths I've not felt since . . . for a long time.

In fact, I haven't felt so deeply cut since Master Katarn died.

But it also assuages my guilt and horror and pain knowing that now my Master will be with Master Jinn, and that he can hurt no longer – he is one with the Force.

On the way to Yavin IV, I had spoken with Leia and Luke. Leia was relieved that I was alive – she feared that I had been on Alderaan – and I expressed my relief that she was mostly unhurt. For Luke, I tried to comfort him over Master Kenobi's death, but because I cannot reveal many things I think my comfort soothed him very little – that, or it fell on deaf ears. But I know I succeeded in making sure that Luke knows the revenge is not the way of the Jedi.

It was priceless, seeing the shock on the faces of the Rebellion leaders when we arrived at the base. The officers had been astonished that a Jedi was still alive. They had believed that I and all of my kind had died in the great Jedi Purge, one of the crowning 'achievements' that marked the final end of the sputtering Republic the Jedi had served and that signaled the beginning to a Galactic Empire that was built on treachery and the shedding of oceans of innocent blood, along with the hundreds of other Jedi in the Temple and offworld.

But then again, they also believe that Anakin Skywalker – Jedi Knight, Hero With No Fear, Chosen One – died in the Purge.

After the officers had gotten over their shock of seeing a real live Jedi – I was forced to provide the demonstration of a small Force-manipulation (a youngling's trick, really, that did not show the full extent of my control of the Force) and show my lightsaber before they agreed that I was indeed a Jedi and not some Imperial spy – they had begun analyzing the data held by R2-D2. And they found a weakness.

Luke and many other pilots went up to fight. I declined, choosing instead to remain in the base in case of a ground invasion. I do not like flying any more than my . . . _former_ . . . Master did, and would be more useful on the ground then in the air.

And Luke did it. He fired the shot that destroyed the Death Star. I am filled with mixed emotions about this. I am glad that he is now able to touch the Force as my Master taught him – I have no doubt that he will become a great Jedi like his father once was before him – but I am also sad, for Vader is now interested in his identity.

And once Vader learns that Luke's surname is Skywalker, he will stop at nothing to get to Luke. I cannot protect Luke against Vader now that Luke has entered this game. I know this. If Luke confronts Vader, he will do it alone, cut off from aid from both his friends and from what remains of the Jedi Order.

After the excitement had died down, the Alliance leaders extended an invitation to Luke and me to join the Alliance. Luke agreed without hesitation. And so, when the leaders began to plead that I join the Alliance, I had told them that my duty was to protect Luke. And if he decides to join the Rebellion, then I will stay with him.

The leaders were pleased with my decision, and moral was boosted when news spread that a real Jedi of the Old Galactic Republic had joined the Rebel Alliance. After all, many Rebels believed that Master Kenobi was the only Jedi to survive the Purge. So the news that I have survived and joined the Alliance has brought their spirits up. Although many in the Alliance do not know what the Jedi are capable of because we have been gone so long, they are aware that we are powerful warriors gifted with mysterious powers. Since everyone knows now, I no longer bother to hide my lightsaber or Jedi attire. The Alliance knows I am a Jedi, and soon the Empire will too.

I do not care. Maybe this is reckless and arrogant of me, but I speak with complete honesty now – no longer do I care about hiding who and what I am. This season of winter is fading away, and soon the spring that I have waited nearly two decades for will happen.

_**2 ABY**_

**Entry:  
**It seems that the Rebel Alliance is determined to give me surprise after surprise. Today, while sitting in on a meeting with the Rebellion's High Command to discuss a new planet for a new base of the Alliance, I met a young Rebel commander called Kyle Katarn. It was not my former first Master, but rather Morgan's son.

So, Morgan kept his promise of over twenty years ago.

From what Senator Mon Mothma told me about Commander Katarn when she introduced us, Morgan had Rebel sympathies, but Kyle did not know this. Kyle joined the Imperial Academy on Carida, and was soon promoted to the ranks of the officers. But by then the Empire had suspicions about Morgan, and had him killed so as to get rid of a Rebel sympathizer. Kyle at first believed the Empire's story – that Rebel assassins had completed the foul deed. But it was not long before he discovered that it was the Empire he had been so proud to serve had done it. Angry and disgusted, he had cast away everything and joined the Alliance.

And like the Jedi thought oh so long ago, Kyle is Force-sensitive, just like his uncle before him.

I have not disclosed this to anyone, excepting, of course, Master Kenobi, Master Jinn, and Master Yoda. But they, for the most part, already knew. They were just waiting for me to experience it.

But I will not tell Kyle of any of this. He does not need to know this. Raised under the control of the Empire, he does not know of his ties to the Jedi Order. And he probably never will. That would only put him in more danger. Thank the Force Master Kenobi and I did not speak of Master Katarn to Skywalker.

If the Force wills Kyle to find out about his uncle and namesake's true identity, then the opportunity will present itself in due time. I am content to wait until then before doing anything.

The other surprise was when Leia arrived . . . with my daughter in tow. Winter has grown and changed so much; I barely recognize her. She is patient, determined, intelligent, and soft-spoken. It seems that she inherited the best from both Obi-Wan and I. I am glad that she did not inherit our tempers or our impulsiveness from our younger days.

I will not tell Winter of her true past either. To do so would put her in danger. But I am proud of who both Kyle and Winter have become.

_**3 ABY**_

**Entry:  
**I shiver as I record this. The Alliance has established a new base, because we – obviously – could not retain our position on Yavin IV because the Empire knew of it. But they had to choose a planet where, if the Empire doesn't find us alive within a few months, they'll find us dead.

Frozen solid.

But enough of my ramblings. I shouldn't be complaining; I'm with the Alliance, away from the Empire, unlike so many citizens who are forced to suffer under its rule.

We have established our base on Hoth, which is basically a planet of ice and snow and ice and more snow. We had to bring in lasers to cut our base from an ice mountain. I did not really use my lightsaber to help, but I was called in to use the Force to move the ice away. I protested at first, not wanting too many to know the true extent of my abilities, but eventually relented – the Alliance _does_ need a new base, and it would be stupid of to have Luke, Leia, and Winter all freeze because I refused to use my skills with the Force.

Anyway, Luke – who is now a commander – and Captain Solo were sent out on tauntauns (indigenous creatures to Hoth) as patrols. Solo is planting the warning sensors, so that the Alliance will now know if anything gets within even a single kilometer of the base. I don't trust my senses to be always open to detecting things like that, and High Command does not know that I am able to anyway. And Luke is making his rounds to make sure that the sensors aren't disturbed as well as to note any appearances by other native – or foreign – things.

I worry for them. I can use the Force to keep myself warm, and my Jedi attire is very comfortable and retains my body heat. But I worry for Luke. . . We did not teach –

"_Jedi Ranor?"_

One moment.

_"Yes? Oh, Leia, what is it?"_

_"Have you seen Luke?"_

_"No. Wasn't he sent out to check on the warning sensors?"_

_"Yes. But Han has returned already, and Luke hasn't. And he isn't responding to his comlink."_

_"Have you checked in with the south entrance? The patrols usually come in there, and I know Luke has used no other entrance before when on patrol."_

_"Han says that he isn't there." _

_"Blast. Hold on, I'll go to High Command. If Luke isn't back by then, then I will go out and personally retrieve him. You go the hangar and wait for us to return, Leia. I don't want to see you venturing out, do you hear me?"_

_(sigh) "Yes, Jedi Ranor._

**Entry:  
**We found Luke, thank the Force. He had collapsed a short distance away from what, I sensed, was a wampa cave. He had no real wounds, but he was suffering from exposure to the elements and was unconsciousness.

Solo has finally proved his worth to me. After all, he was the one to really find Luke. I only arrived afterward, as Solo was setting up his shelter. I sent Luke into a light healing trance, and used the Force to move the air constantly to keep us warmer inside the shelter. And Echo Base sent out snowspeeders the next day, so we were brought back, for the most part safe and sound.

Unless you count the fact that I am barely managing to retain my serenity. I'm _cold_, blast it! Even Jedi aren't immune to sitting outside in a snowstorm for a whole night. And I would really like to know what in on earth tempted Luke to stray from his tauntaun and get into this whole situation in the first place.

I have left Leia and Solo with Luke. Leia and Luke get along, unlike most siblings, and Chewbacca is able to keep Solo in line. After all –

_"Headquarters personnel, please report to the command center."_

Blast. What now? I – seriously – just started thawing from my visit outside.

_"Princess . . . Master Jedi . . . we have a visitor." _

_"We picked up something outside the base of zone twelve, moving east."_

_"It's metal."_

_"Then it couldn't be one of those creatures."_

_"It could be a speeder, one of ours."_

_"If it was one of ours, I think we would know about it. And I can sense that High Command haven't sent anything to that zone."_

_"Wait – there's something very weak coming through."_

_(series of choppy electronic noises issue)_

_"Sir, I am fluent in six million forms of communication. This signal is not used by the Alliance. It could be an Imperial code."_

_"Master Jedi, do you – "_

_"Yes. The Republic used this code for the probe droids that we issued. Obviously the Empire has not seen fit to change it."_

_"How would you know this?"_

_"General, with all due respect, I did serve alongside General Kenobi in the Clone Wars. Before these . . . stormtroopers became the symbol of the Empire, they served under Jedi commanders in specialized units. I was well-versed in their communication standards."_

_"Then it isn't friendly, whatever it is. Come on, Chewie, let's check it out."_

_A sigh._

_"Send Rogues 10 and 11 to station three-eight."_

_"We'd better pray that they weren't doing some of the surveillances we used to do."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because we used to also take certain tests to see how much the Force has been used. If the droid was indeed taking this, then Vader will definitely know I'm here. And where I am, the Alliance is. I don't use the Force as much as I used to, but it is a lot more than what's normal for an ice planet like Hoth." _

**Entry:  
**_"Has Solo reported back yet?"_

_"No, Master Jedi."_

_"Wait – here he is."_

_(voices are distant, then get louder)_

_"'Fraid there's not much left."_

_"What was it?"_

_"Droid of some kind. I didn't hit it that hard. It must have had a self-destruct."_

_"An Imperial probe droid."_

_"That must be why. . . Solo, did Luke say he was going to check out something when we lost him last night?"  
"Yeah."_

_(sigh) "Then it's most definitely an Imperial droid."_

_"It's a good bet the Empire knows we are here."_

_"We'd better start the evacuation." _

_**4 ABY**_

**Entry:  
**I sigh in relief as I record this. Luke, Leia, Han, and Chewbacca have all finally come to the rendezvous at Sullust. The Alliance had regrouped here after our disastrous loss on Hoth, and in the confusion Luke, Leia, and Han had been separated from us. When I learned from Master Jinn what they had done – and Luke in particular – I had been furious.

Luke had confronted Vader against the express orders and wishes of my Master and Master Yoda. Fool! Apparently neither of the Skywalker children has inherited Padmé's patience and common sense. And now Luke pays for this. For one thing, Vader cut off his arm, but he also revealed that he was Luke's father. Luke suffers greatly now, from both physical and mental pain. He is having trouble imagining the man my Master described to him as both Vader and his father.

I can sympathize. My Master envisions Darth Vader and Anakin Skywalker as different people, and this is the version he told to Luke. When he first spouted this at me, I told him that he should have become secluded like some of the older Jedi and spent his time pondering philosophy and the Force's mysterious ways instead of torturing us young ones with his strange views and philosophy speeches. He only laughed at me.

Luke is apparently under the impression that I do not know anything about this, for he was never told that I served along Anakin personally back in the Clone Wars. I know this because he has not asked me a single question concerning his father. Even if he did, I would not answer. Answers should be given from my Master and from Master Yoda first, not me.

As for Leia, well, she fared a little better of than Luke, but not much. Certainly she could have fared much better. Ah, well. In any case, she and Han fled to Bespin after their hyperdrive was . . . had some technical difficulties. So she was beaten and Han tortured when the Empire took over Bespin. And they were used as bait to lure Luke in!

All of this . . . all of these _crimes_ by the Empire – especially when I know that Vader is harming his own _children_, his and _Pad__m__é's_ children – they just make me want to rage against him until either I stand dead or the Emperor is cast down.

I guess my motherly instincts still apply to those two young ones, even though they are not my children and are no longer children in the first place.

Luke lost the lightsaber my Master gave him at Bespin, and has now built another using the crystals he made and found. Some came from the lightsaber that once belonged to Qui-Gon Jinn. Others Luke built and fashioned personally. But from what my Master has told me, Luke's new lightsaber is fine craftsmanship for a first try, as fine as Anakin's used to be.

After all, Anakin _did_ lose and build new lightsabers practically every three months, so he got good at building them quickly and well.

Anyway, Luke and Leia freed Han from Jabba the Hutt, and are back with the Alliance now. But I have fled the rendezvous. The Empire has recently found out my real identity. Earlier they just thought I was merely just some half-trained Jedi who managed to escape Order 66. But now they know better; they know I am Kya Ranor, a Padawan apprentice to the famous Obi-Wan Kenobi who served in the Clone Wars and was noted to have a midi-chlorian count rivaling even Anakin Skywalker.

And Vader hunts me personally – or rather, he has posted a very large bounty for me. Vader, of course, is a bit more preoccupied with finding Luke than hunting me down. With my Jedi training, I could delay Vader in ways Luke never could. And Luke is a far more interesting target than a Jedi of the Old Republic.

However, Vader does want to torture me personally, for he knows now that Padmé lived long enough to bear Luke, and he knows that I must have been present when she died, for my Master died protecting Luke and I was with my Master. He wants to know what else the Jedi – basically me, since I am the only Jedi who has emerged recently – have concealed from the Empire.

I still do not know how the Empire knows who I am; I can only conclude that either there is a spy in the fleet or Palpatine has interrogated – or forced into a mind of – a Rebel who remembers me. After all, Sidious knows what I look like; while not as publicized as Skywalker and my Master, I was still famous, for not many a fourteen or fifteen year old could keep up with the two of them, even a Jedi.

I fled the fleet because I did not want those on my tail to find the Alliance fleet. Also, this way I have no knowledge of what the Alliance's plans are at the moment. All information I have about the Alliance is old and mostly useless. If the Empire finds me, there is little I know that will of use to them, save a few things – the true ancestry of Leia and Winter, how Padmé died, and . . . how I could possibly raise Padmé from the netherworld of the Force. But those things I will die before I reveal.

I have left a message explaining why I left for Leia and Luke. It explains that I was Obi-Wan's apprentice after Luke's father, and that I served with Luke's father in Clone Wars. I also explained that Vader knows who I am now, and that he hunts me with a passion only rivaled by his passion for finding his son. Thusly, I could not stay and endanger the fleet. My last was encouragement for Luke and Leia and the Rebel Alliance, and a warning against anyone coming after me, no matter what happens. There is no one in the fleet that would be strong enough to protect me from Darth Vader and the Emperor, and I will not endanger anyone.

I wish I could have encouraged Luke in person, though. I know that he is feeling terribly lonely now, for Master Yoda has also passed away. I felt it. Luke must have tried to assuage his sad feelings with the fact that he was not the last Jedi because I still lived and would be able to give him guidance on what to do, and now I have disappeared as well.

I –

What was that?

Oh, Sithspit. May the Force be with me, for I think the Empire has found me. If they have, I promise myself now, I will not dishonor my Master and the Jedi Order by breaking and begging for mercy – and revealing the information I had spent the last twenty or so years protecting.

I will die before Vader and the Emperor can get any information out of me.

[_end of journal entries for Kya Ranor_]


	66. Chapter 63

This chapter takes place a while after the final entry in the Interlude, and we are still in Kya's home universe. I decided to skip the confrontation with Sidious, but to make things clear, in the final entry, she was captured by Vader and brought to the Death Star. This takes place during the celebration on Endor.

Also, remember: Kya only calls Anakin "brother" because children of the Force are considered brothers and sisters, NOT because they are blood-related, which they aren't.

Finally, to all of the readers who reviewed thinking that the Interlude was the end – it wasn't. I want to tie up all the loose ends first. The end will come when I say "The End" and start _maybe_ thinking about doing a sequel.

* * *

**_Chapter Sixty-Three_**

**4 ABY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I leaned against one of the trunks with a sigh and a faint smile on my lips. I could see the fireworks above as the Rebels celebrated the destruction of the Death Star, could hear the music and the shouts of the celebrating Ewoks and Rebels, and I could see the twisting figures of those celebrating Ewoks and Rebels.

I had not joined in the celebrations. Luke had, moments ago, but I had not.

Not yet. I still had one more thing to do.

I disappeared into the shadows, calling on the Force to silence my footsteps, quiet my breathing, and make me almost invisible. It was not a hard task; everyone was either drunk literally or drunk figuratively – with drink or with excitement – and it was easy to slip past them. Only a trained Jedi would have noticed me, and there were none here.

I stepped into the little clearing where Luke had set ablaze his father's body. I had helped him move Anakin's body from the ship to here and helped him set up the funeral pyre – but I had left when Luke had prepared to the final touches and Anakin's body had burned.

That had been Luke's right and burden, and his alone.

But now that the fire was gone, I had felt Anakin's spirit pass into the Force. Slowly, I sat in front of the pyre and cleared my mind.

_Anakin?_ I asked softly. _Brother?_

_I'm here_, came his immediate and cocky reply. _Hello, sis._

I fought a scowl. _Only a few minutes into realizing this and you're already getting cocky_, I said disapprovingly.

Or I tried to. I didn't think my tone quite conveyed my disapproval.

And Anakin sensed it. _Not cocky, just happy. It feels . . . I don't know . . . It feels better here. Wherever here is._

_It's home_, I told him. _Our home. The home of the children of the Force._

_Our?_

I smiled. _And some Jedi, of course. How are you, Master?_

_No better or worse. And you, Padawan?_ Master Kenobi's voice was calm and clear and strong, like it had always been.

_You still call her 'Padawan'?_ Anakin cut in.

I frowned. _Well, obviously. I never passed the Trials; never even took them._

_Why – oh. Oh. Sorry, Kya, I really am sorry_, he said, his tone going from full of cockiness to full of self-reproach within three syllables.

_I know. It's all right. I'll pass the Trials. Eventually._

_But who would give them to you?_ Anakin asked. _There's no Jedi around to do it._

_As much as I hate to shatter your confidence, my brother, some Jedi _did_ manage to avoid even your tracking abilities_, I said dryly.

_Ah. Yes. Well, um – _

I unfolded my legs and stood. _And anyways_, I continued, interrupting Anakin, _those other Jedi are not who I had in mind anyways._

_Who then?_

I smiled. _Shouldn't you be minding your children, Anakin?_ I asked.

I sensed him pout; or as close as he could get to it. _Fine. Dismiss me_, he muttered. _Fun spoiler, you are._

I broke the connection and turned away from the funeral pyre. The feeling was building inside of me, as it had so many years earlier – over twenty years earlier, actually. Whenever I reached for the Force, the feeling only intensified.

_I want to go home._

One might argue that this place was my home. It was where I had been born, where I had been raised, where – for most of my life – I had lived. I had so many memories of this place, some happy and some terrible and some that were just plain ridiculous.

But this wasn't really my home.

It had stopped being my home almost twenty-three years ago.

Now, my home was where my lover, my mate was. But he was so close and yet so far from me – in another whole universe.

But that wouldn't stop me now. No, now it was time. Time to go home.

I could feel it.

~ _Luke Skywalker_ ~  
Kya was staring broodingly at over the landscape when Leia and I finally arrived. She had asked to speak with us soon after the celebrations had ended – celebrations that had lasted so long into the night that the moon was nearly setting now.

She looked almost . . . sad in the moonlight. Like a last remnant of something old and something gone, wondering about the future and grieving about the past. And in a way, she was – she was one of the last of the Old Jedi Order.

Kya turned seconds later, having sensed our arrival. She smiled faintly at us. "Hello, you two," she greeted.

"You called?" Leia asked, moving right on to business.

Kya sighed and folded her hands into the sleeves of her cloak. A troubled expression settled briefly on her face before she cleared it and said, "Yes. I have something to say – to the both of you. You deserve to know."

I shared a confused glance with my newfound sister. _Deserve to know what?_

Kya understood the glance. "About your family. In particular, your mother. I know you have some memories of her, Leia, but memories alone are not enough. Tonight, I'll tell you everything. I think . . . after all you have been through and done . . . I think you are ready to know."

Leia settled herself in a chair, looking slightly interested. I leaned against the wall as Kya crossed the room to sit on the bed directly across from us.

"Your father," Kya began, "was Anakin Skywalker. You have only known him as Darth Vader, but I knew him as a child."

"When you were a child or when he was?" I interjected quickly.

A smile flashed across her face. "I was." She raised a hand and loosened the ponytail into which her dark brown hair was gathered, revealing a long, thin braid that hung down her right shoulder. "This is a Padawan braid – the braid of a Jedi apprentice who is not yet a Knight. When I was thirteen years old, I became the Padawan of Jedi Master and Senior General Obi-Wan Kenobi."

I straightened abruptly, suddenly understanding. Ben had said that he had served with my father in the Clone Wars, and if Kya had been Ben's apprentice, then –

"You knew my father?"

Kya smiled. "Yes, Luke, I did. I served under my Master and thus with Jedi Skywalker during the wars. He was a great pilot, like you, and a powerful Jedi – and he was an amazing friend. His sense of loyalty was astonishing. He took so many risks during battle to protect Master Kenobi that I believe at the end of the war they had a running tally of how many times they'd saved each other's butts."

Leia, despite her anger at our father, couldn't help letting out a small snicker. "What was it?" she asked eagerly.

"I'm not sure. . . I think it was almost even – unless you counted Cato _Neiomodia, I think." Kya shrugged. "But you'd have to ask one of them to find out for certain."_

_"They're dead," Leia objected. "You can't talk to the dead."_

_"You can't," Kya said agreeably._

_I frowned. Something about the way she had said that, as if she knew something or was able to do something we couldn't . . . but with the dead, the ones who had passed on . . . something that she knew that we did not . . . just sounded weird._

_Kya had always been a mystery to me, ever since she had shown on up Tatooine and met us – well, um, met me. In a duel, actually, which she beat me without even using her lightsaber. It had only been afterwards that I had learned the truth – that she was indeed a Jedi._

_But still she had been a mystery. _

_I had never seen her really actually grieving about Ben's death. I had seen the stillness and the quiet that had settled on her face and eyes before when I knew she was remembering him, but never had she ever shed a tear or voiced a regret. _

_Never. _

_She had simply squared her shoulders, taken a deep breath, and moved on._

It made me wonder if Kya could really _feel_ anything. She showed so little emotion that it was hard to tell; her Jedi mask was almost always firmly in place, except when I did something stupid and she rolled her eyes or, like aboard the Death Star, she was pleading with an enemy . . . or screaming in agony.

Oh, yes, that confrontation aboard the Death Star had not been pleasant.

I forced my attention back to the conversation at hand just in time to hear Leia said tartly, "What do you mean by that? You can't talk to someone who's dead anymore than we can."

Kya smiled mysteriously, standing and waving one hand. There was a silver flash – brief yet compressed, as if the flash was a mere second's expression of a much greater power. And then the Force trembled with power, gathering like winds gather to a storm.

And then Kya said, "Master, Anakin – I think you can reveal yourselves now."

Our jaws dropped as two forms shimmered into view. Ben stood next to Kya, his hands folded in his robes the same way hers had been. He looked at me with a smile before turning to Kya, a fatherly air coming over him as he gazed fondly at her.

And my dad – my father – Anakin Skywalker, he stood on the other side. He was dressed in the same style as Ben and Kya, but in darker shades. An air of sadness hung around him, as if he regretted more things than he didn't.

Leia shot to her feet, her brown eyes blazing. "Who are you?" she barked at our father.

Kya looked up, surprise showing on her face. Behind her, Ben's form shimmered faintly as he shifted position.

"Leia, this is your father, Anakin Skywalker," Kya said after a moment. "You knew him as Darth Vader."

Our father winced. "Don't remind me," he said.

Leia jumped and I started. I stared wide-eyed at my father. Ben had spoken to me before, yes, but my father had never and so I had assumed that he couldn't.

Clearly, I was wrong.

"But – But _how_ – " I spluttered.

Kya smiled again. "He is part of the Force, and the Force is part of you. . . Of course you can hear him. And you can speak to each other." She shifted, and her tone grew businesslike. "But this is just one thing.

"Your mother was Padmé Amidala, the famous Senator and Queen from Naboo. I'm sure you have heard of her, Leia," Kya said, turning to face Leia.

"Well – um – Yes, I have," Leia said hesitantly.

Kya tossed something to Leia – a holoprojector, I guessed, from its shape and size. "These contain some images that I preserved from the fall of the Republic. It shows your mother – and your father – and it also contains information you may find useful in reorganizing the Rebel Alliance into a republic."

Leia's hands closed around the holoprojector as if it was pure diamond – which, in a way, it was to her. "Thank you."

"And Luke – "

Now Kya tossed something to me. It was a small device, one that fit easily in the palm of my hand, and seemed fragile and useless – but when I reached out to the Force, it shone with power. To the uninitiated and the untrained, it seemed to be a simple little paperweight or such – but to me it whispered of hidden secrets and precious knowledge.

"What is it?" I asked curiously, not quite understanding it completely.

Kya folded her hands back into her sleeves. "It is a Jedi Holocron; one my Master and I have spent years working on. All the wisdom of the Old Jedi Order that we have remembered lies in there – wisdom that will be a great help as you begin the resurrection of the Jedi Order."

My head snapped up. "Wouldn't you help me?" I demanded. The Jedi Holocron would be valuable, yes, but firsthand experience was better . . . only she was talking about this as if she was already dead.

She shifted and was silent for a long time, Ben and Anakin's forms shimmering by her sides like some kind of ghostly honor guard. "I cannot interfere," Kya said finally.


	67. Chapter 64

I have a list of things to clear up from listening to reviewers, so here they are before everybody starts getting confused.

1) I'm not going to bother to calculate Kya's age because of the whole "age a little every time she crosses to a new universe" problem. So let's just leave it that Kya looks like she's in her mid-twenties because Walkers don't really tend to show aging that much.

2) There is no problem with assimilation, as there wasn't before. See, if a Walker "dies" and like literally leaves their body with no intention of returning, then there are no problems with assimilation. Walkers can only exist in one plane with one body and one soul. Existing in two splits the soul and causes some issues = assimilation. As Kya intends to "die" now and go to Obi-Wan (lover) for good, there are no problems with assimilation. Hope that clears it up.

3) Winter is not coming. She will follow the outline of the real character.

* * *

**_Chapter Sixty-Four_**

**4 ABY**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
Luke's explosion of questions came immediately after I answered, and I closed my eyes wearily. _The boy needs to learn patience_, I thought with an inward sigh. I understood the reason behind this, but I also hoped that one day he would learn and attain the serenity that characterized mature, fully-trained Jedi.

When he did, Luke Skywalker would be a powerful Jedi. Of that I had no doubt. With such a high midi-chlorian count from his father and caring, determined, protective nature from his mother, he would certainly be a Jedi of the likes not seen since Anakin.

_It's a pity I won't be here to see it, though._

I would have liked to. I would have liked to stay and guide Luke and Leia and the Rebel Alliance on their way. I knew that as one of the last surviving Jedi, I would have been able to help rebuild the galaxy.

But that would not be the case.

Leia was the future of the Republic right now – but she didn't exactly completely need me for that. Bail Organa had trained her well, and she would have the help of Mon Mothma and Garm Bel Iblis and other surviving Senators. She would be fine without me.

Even Luke would be fine without me. Yes, he was unsure and yes, he had had only a taste of a real Jedi education. But the Jedi education he had been exposed to was that of the Old Order; he needed to create his own now, one that would characterize the New Jedi Order, one better adapted to survive in a changing galaxy.

I was one of the last of the Old; he was the first of New.

He needed to do this without my interference.

If he needed help, the Force would always be with him. The Senators would be there too. And my Master and his father.

"I am sorry, Luke," I said quietly. "But you are the future of the order. Eventually, the old must give way for the young – and you are the young that we of the Old Order must entrust our future to."

"I can't do this. Not on my own," Luke protested.

"Isn't that what you said about redeeming your father?" I asked.

Luke's shoulders sagged. "I need you."

"No, Luke. You need yourself. You need to find who you are. Even your father can't help you with that."

Luke opened his mouth, as if to retort, but he seemed to have lost his ability to speak. Sadness filled him, and an overwhelming sense of loneliness threatened to overwhelm him.

I could well understand the feeling. What was more, I could even emphasize with him, for I had felt roughly the same after my bond with Obi-Wan had gone dormant. And the hardest part, I knew, of that feeling was that it was nearly impossible to verbalize the feeling – but if you didn't, it stayed in you and became the dark part of your mind, the scary part of your nightmares, the loneliness of the night.

Stepping forward, I put my hands on Luke's shoulders. "Luke, I know this isn't what you envisioned," I said gently. "But you can't stop it from happening." I shook his shoulders gently, and he looked at me, pale blue eyes filled with confusion and fear.

He looked so much like his father had at that moment that I barely fought down my own tears.

"Step up, Luke. Be brave. Honor your father," I told him softly.

Finally, the confusion faded, to be replaced by determination. He straightened his shoulders and inhaled deeply. Then he looked at me, a question in his eyes.

"What will happen to you, then?" he asked.

Leia turned to me as well as his words, and her brown eyes echoed the same question as her brother.

I let go of Luke, turning away. As I did, I looked down at my hands – or, more specifically, at the faint silver outlines of a sun and moon set into my wrists. They were the marks of an apprentice of the Order of Walker, and it was with my allegiance to that order alone that would allow me to do what I wished to.

Then the question became – could I do it?

I had succeeded the past times, but that had been when my body was remained behind, as I had inhabited a new body, of flesh and blood and bone that the Force had created for me, in that universe.

Now, I would try to achieve the same feat – only I would leave behind this, my original body. It would crumple into silver dust and glowing power, nothing less and nothing more, when I left.

And there was a wide margin for failure. Oftentimes, Walkers were not encouraged to walk the plane of universes on their own until they became full Walkers. I was merely an apprentice, attempting to succeed at a feat that many fully-trained Walkers rarely trifled with.

I closed my fists and folded my hands back in my sleeves. I had to succeed. I _had_ to.

It was just this . . . this feeling, this sensation in my gut that told me I didn't belong here anymore. My purpose was done here, in this universe.

I needed to go home – not my birth place, but the place that had become my home.

"I am returning home," I answered finally, turning around to face Luke and Leia. "My duty here is done."

"Isn't your duty to help us?" Luke demanded as Leia nodded fervently. "You remember the Old Republic, the Old Order – you could help us rebuild it."

I turned around with a sad smile. "Didn't we all see what happened the last time when the old ways overpowered the new? No, Leia, Luke; you must rebuild the Republic on your own. I cannot interfere."

Luke made a face. "You sound like Ben."

I laughed. "Well, he _was_ my Master." Then I sobered. "But you don't need me. Either of you. You'll be fine."

_I have foreseen it_, was on the tip of my tongue, but at the last minute I withheld the comment. Knowing the future usually made one all the more tempted to try and change it, and often it was through trying to change it that one allowed the foreseen to come about. Therefore, I decided at the last minute not to tell anything about the future the Force hinted at me.

"Where are you going, then?" Luke asked after a long moment of silence.

"I'm going home. But first . . ."

I stretched out my hand and closed my eyes, concentrating. Slowly yet with building rapidity, the Force flooded into me. I heard gasps, and I knew that the outlines on my palms were beginning to glow as I accessed my full power.

And then, when I was ready, I released the power in one potent moment.

_Padmé Amidala! You have dwelt long enough in the shadows. Come forth!_

The Force trembled as I for the second time unleashed my power, focusing it in calling back Padmé. I would need all the power I could harness, for Padmé had dwelt longer in the Force than Tahl, and the Force had not willed her to live as it had for Tahl.

For a second, the Force tugged back, not willing to release Padmé.

But then the resistance snapped, and a shimmering globe of blue energy glowed to life beside me. It unfolded slowly, growing like a fire shoots up, and as it did the globe became a figure and then a person . . . and then Padmé.

Padmé straightened, her dark brown hair falling in an elegant waterfall down her back and her long simple dress settling around her, and smiled at her children.

"Luke, Leia," she murmured. Her voice was as beautiful as I remembered, silky and smooth and full of power – but in a good way, quite unlike the oily, devious voice of Sidious.

Luke stared at her like a blinded man finally able to see, his mouth wide open and his eyes filled with a surprise that almost made me laugh. Leia stumbled to her mother, her dim memories of Padmé glinting at the forefront of her mind.

"Mother!" she breathed. "I can't – This isn't – Is it really you?"

Padmé laughed. "Yes. Oh, Leia, you don't know how much I've wished to meet you. . . And Luke, you look so much like your father. . . Oh my children. . . Oh my _babies_. . ."

"Mom," Luke whispered. I glanced at him, seeing that the realization was just starting to settle in on his face.

I smiled, crossing my arms. Anakin was smiling too, tears glittering in his eyes as he drank in the sight of his wife. My Master merely shook his head slowly, but a smile was on his lips too as he watched Padmé greet her children.

Luke and Leia turned to me. As one, they asked, "How?"

I shrugged. "I'm not really sure. . . But time is short. Your mother cannot stay too long; she has lingered far too long in the Force, and soon she will move on with your father."

Luke moved to Padmé's side as Anakin's form shimmered. The happiness was gone on his face; now it was replaced by wariness and pleading and apologizing. The target – his daughter.

"Can you forgive me?" he whispered.

Leia hesitated, but her response was in no way gentle. "How? How can I forgive you for what you did – what you ordered – what you carried out – all of those people _dead_ – "

Leia's voice cracked, and silence reigned in the room. Padmé and Luke looked up from their own reunion fading as they took in the tense scene between Anakin and Leia. My Master merely sighed, and his form flickered as he shifted his stance.

"Leia. . ." I said with a sigh.

She whirled on me, her dark eyes blazing. "Don't start! I know what I owe you, but I cannot accept this! He destroyed Alderaan – he killed people – _he tortured me_!"

I waited a moment to let her anger cool. Then I said evenly, "If you are going to blame your father for everything the Empire has done, you had best start with me, Leia, and not your father."

That threw her off.

Leia blinked. "What?"

"Or your mother, for that matter," I continued, with a flick of my eyes to Padmé, who nodded ever so slightly. "Or the Jedi Order. Or even, perhaps, Darth Maul and Count Dooku. Or the Trade Federation. Or – "

"What's your point?" Leia snapped. Or, tried to snap. Her voice was beginning to waver.

I kept my expression cool and impassive. "My point, child, is that many played a role in the rise of the Empire, not just your father. Don't attempt to try and hold him accountable for all the crimes of the Empire."

"Why not?"

I dropped my hands from my sleeves, letting my anger surface momentarily. She stepped back, surprised.

"Because that is the show of a _child_ who has learned what her father attempted to teach her!"

"Because of _him_, my father is _dead_!" Leia retorted.

I drew in a breath to cool the rage rising in my chest. "You still don't understand," I said resignedly. I sighed. "Leia, please, listen. Many contributed to the rise of the Empire, not just your father. And blaming others is _not_ a trait your father would have wanted. You are young and independent. Forge your own life. Move on from the past. You can't change it."

A tear formed in Leia's eye. "I want to, though."

"You cannot," I said firmly. "That is the destiny of the Walkers, and the Walkers alone."

"The who?" Luke interjected.

I waved my hand. "Never mind." I turned my attention back to Leia, rummaging in my belt pouch as I spoke.

"Speaking of your father . . . he wanted you to have this, one day. . ."

And so speaking, I handed to her a locket containing two pictures – on one side, her and Bail and Breha, laughing and smiling; on the other, a side with Padmé and Anakin . . . and her and Luke.

She gasped. "How . . . ?"

"I had a lot of spare time on my hand," I joked with a laugh. It wasn't actually true; between her and Luke, I'd actually had very little time. But I'd managed to put the thing together in between running around.

Her hand closed over it. "Thank you."

I nodded and turned my gaze to Padmé. "It's time," I told her.

She sighed and drifted to Anakin's side after murmuring good-bye to Luke and Leia. My Master flickered once more before fading completely. As Anakin and Padmé followed suit, I called all of my power to me once more.

It was time to go home. Home to the other galaxy, to the other Order . . . to Obi-Wan and Aurora.


	68. Chapter 65

Okay, we have made our very last universe jump now. Kya is now back in the universe she helped right, where her daughter, Aurora, and her mate, Obi-Wan, are. And she is here to stay. But first she's going to have to sort out some misunderstandings. . .

* * *

**_Chapter Sixty-Five_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I opened my eyes and was immediately hit by the sensation of vertigo. With a sigh, I eased myself into a sitting position and rubbed at my neck, which ached.

_No wonder most Walkers didn't bother moving between universes. It's such a pain in the neck – literally!_ I thought grumpily. _I wish someone had invented some sort of time machine or universe traveler or something. . ._

Immediately, I reached out to the Force – and to the sleeping bond in the back of my mind. My bond with Obi-Wan was the only bond in my head now, as the bond with my Master had shattered with his death at the hands of Darth Vader. But for all of those years – over two decades – it had been silent, as we had been dwelling in separate universes.

I was half afraid that I had moved myself into the wrong universe, despite all of my preparation and all of my focus on seeking out the one where my mate resided.

But to my relief, the bond flared to life with a single probe, sending warmth radiating all of my body. Mates of Walkers were not called mates for nothing, after all, and most of the time we needed them more than they needed us.

I needed him – I needed Obi-Wan. I could feel the fragments of my spirit, bound together like a cracked mug, and I knew that so long and so deep a separation had severely weakened me. Only a mate could soothe that, could heal me – _my_ mate.

I needed him desperately if I wanted to live much longer.

But before I could delve deeper and communicate further to Obi-Wan, there was a sudden snapping noise.

In a flash, I was on my feet – but it was too late.

Strong arms locked my own behind my back as a sharp, cold _something_ touched the skin of my neck. I froze as my danger sense flared, knowing that whatever had touched my neck was not something I should handle lightly.

Lights flashed on and footsteps sounded close by. The arms restraining me grew even tighter than before. Then a hand reached out and pulled away the lightsaber from my belt.

"A Jedi," came a soft, cold voice. "Alone, without aid. . ."

The light flashed directly in my eyes, and I winced involuntarily.

"An apprentice," said another voice, harsh and blunt. "She's got the braid there, no mistake about it."

"Yes, yes," the first voice said almost absently. "Now the question is _why_. . ."

"Get your hands off of me!" I hissed, calling the Force to me. I could deal with these people easily, now that I sensed no innocents were about and that they meant me harm.

"Not so fast, Jedi," the first voice said, amused. "Go ahead."

There was a strange pressure on my neck . . . and then my neck went cold and stiff.

_No!_

Whatever they had given me had to be a neurotoxin of some sort, something to paralyze me and leave me completely at their mercy. It was powerful, and it was fast.

In a flash, I wrestled out of my captor's hold and called on the Force to clear my bloodstream of the drug. I had spent twenty years of my life hiding what I could – I didn't intend to hide my powers anymore. I was going to find my mate, and there was nothing that could stop me.

But then a cloth snagged over my mouth, and suddenly all I could smell was a sweet, sickly smell. . .

And then darkness as I collapsed.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
The Force suddenly surged with more power than I had ever felt, and my eyes flashed open in surprise. I had never felt such a gathering of raw power.

And then I had another reason to jump – the life-bond that had laid dormant for thirteen years suddenly flared to life.

_Kya!_

I couldn't believe it. The bond had been silent for so long that I had grown used to life without her, and yet I still remembered what had happened – and how much she had meant to me.

After her last visit, I had grown resigned to the possibility that she might never return to me, that we might never see each other again, that we might . . . stay apart.

I mean, I had my daughter here, and Qui-Gon and Tahl were alive, and I was a Knight. That was a lot, considering what would have happened had Kya not interfered . . . if we hadn't been blessed with the presence of a Walker.

But still . . . Kya was my soulmate. Living without her, especially after we had won and it had seemed like we would have a happy ending, was painful.

And now – now the bond had come to life again. That could only mean one thing.

Kya was back in _this_ universe.

I could only hope that she was here to stay. If she wasn't . . . then I could only hope I would get to her so that we would have at least _some_ time together before whatever mission she was on cut that short too.

~ _Aurora Ranor_ ~  
I was just punching in the coordinates for Coruscant when my Master suddenly froze, a shocked gasp leaving his lips as though something had punched him in the stomach.

"Master?" I looked over at him, confused.

His eyes were wide and almost . . . blank looking, as though he was getting a vision. His hands were gripping the arms of his chair so tightly that they were turning white, and blood was draining from his face as though he'd seen a ghost.

"Master?" I repeated warily. He'd never spaced out of me like this before.

My Master's hands tightened on the chair even more. "Impossible," he whispered. Then I felt the Force swell around him with tremendous strength and power, the most I'd ever felt in my life.

Which was, admittedly, not saying much as I was only thirteen years old and this was only my third time out of the Jedi Temple, but still. . . I'd been with my Master long enough to know what he was capable of, and he'd never ever done anything close to this before. Never.

I gasped when a soft wave rippled around my Master, growing in power. It was the strangest technique I had ever felt, as though he was searching for something yet wasn't sure where it was or what form it would take.

It sounded ridiculous, but that really was what it felt like.

My Master stood suddenly and erased the coordinates from the console. His expression was the strangest I had ever seen, stranger than the blank look of before. Now it was a mixture of hope and joy and sadness and fear – a whole spectrum of emotions crammed into one face yet somehow worked.

"What are you doing?" I asked warily.

He ignored the question. "Open a connection to Coruscant," he ordered as he typed in new coordinates. "Get Qui-Gon and Tahl. If not, then bypass them and try to make contact with the Council."

I gaped at him. My Master wasn't exactly in the best standing with the Council; if he felt something needed to be done and the Council forbade it, he might ignore them and do it anyways. It was trait he had inherited from Master Jinn, and sometimes it was a rather annoying one.

He deleted a number and typed in a new one. He paused for a moment, then repeated the process. The Force still rippled around him, and I got the impression that he was waiting for the Force to tell him whether or not the number had just entered was right rather than actually knowing the coordinates by heart.

"Padawan," he murmured, and his murmur was filled with command, as if he knew that I wasn't obeying.

Grumbling, I flicked on the communication console. "What should I tell them?"

"Tell them that I'm going to find Kya," he said tightly.

"Who?"

"Kya. They'll know who I mean."

"Are you feeling okay?"

He threw me an almost exasperated look over his shoulder. "Padawan, now is not the time to be difficult," he reprimanded lightly.

I frowned. He rarely called me by the title. Normally, he called me by name. The fact that he was choosing to call me by title told me how serious he was about this.

That, or this Kya was someone who would not approve of me and my Master's true relationship.

"Who is Kya?" I asked as I punched in the codes.

He finished finding the coordinates and resumed his seat. "Another Jedi."

I rolled my eyes. "You're being stubborn," I complained.

He smiled, but the smile didn't reach his blue-green eyes. There was still confusion and sadness and hope in them. I got the feeling that he really wanted to find this Kya, but at the same time was afraid of what would happen when he did.

I wondered who she was – and why she invoked such a passionate response in him when normally it took a great deal to get even a flicker of emotion out of him.

"And you aren't, Aurora?" he teased, reaching for the hyperspace lever.

As the stars blurred into lines and we jumped into hyperspace, I stuck my tongue out at my Master and father, Obi-Wan Kenobi.


	69. Chapter 66

**_Chapter Sixty-Six_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I was so startled when the stasis field abruptly deactivated that I only just managed to recover in time to break my fall by rolling. For a second, I just rested there, recovering from all the electric shocks I had received and from the lack of nutrition.

Then I stood to face my rescuer.

It was just a Padawan Learner, to my surprise. She couldn't be older than thirteen, and I saw the telltale signs that told me she was fresh on the field, not long into her apprenticeship.

"Thank you for that," I said easily, rubbing at my wrists where the restraints were.

"How'd you get captured in the first place?" she asked suspiciously, as though she couldn't believe a real Jedi could have been imprisoned like me.

_Definitely her first few times on the field then_, I thought with a slight frown. _But she'll learn. Probably first-hand too._

"I got snuck up on," I said with a sigh. "Too much on my mind."

The Padawan didn't say anything, but I could feel her instant . . . disinterest in me. Apparently she didn't think too highly of Jedi who got themselves captured. Or perhaps she was just annoyed that she and her Master had been diverted from whatever mission they were on to come and rescue me.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked.

"My Master sensed you."

I frowned. _And here I thought I had grown _better_ at communicating specific Jedi. . ._ "Well, it's a good thing you did; hanging in a stasis field all day is annoying."

I rubbed at the restraints again with annoyance; it would be a while before the Force-inhibitor wore off and I could deactivate them on my own. Unless I miraculously found a lock pick around here and had enough time to sit there and pick at the lock.

The Padawan noticed. Stepping forward, she said, "Here." She narrowed her eyes for a moment, and then the restraints popped open and fell off.

I raised an eyebrow. _She's stronger than I thought._ Most Padawans were not able to use the Force to influence such intricate workings until later. Even I had had trouble with that, although my Master had put it down to the fact that I spent more time looking to the future and the big picture than the here and now.

"Well done." Then I looked around. It would be better if we got out of here now before my captors woke up and decided that they also wanted a captive Padawan as well as me.

Even though, technically I was still a Padawan.

With a sigh, I gestured to her. "Let's get out of here and find your Master before these thugs figure out that you sprang me, shall we?"

~ _Aurora Ranor_ ~  
Now I could totally understand the strange mix of wariness and happiness that my father had worn on his face about this lady.

I mean, she was so . . . _weird_.

My father and I had split up when we entered the compound. He had raced off to deal with the people in charge, and I had decided to go and try to find this Kya – whose last name I still didn't know, actually. My father had warned me to be careful, slipping back into his "dad role" instead of his normal "Master role".

It hadn't been that hard to find her, though. The Force had practically sung with her Force-signature the whole way to her cell, and it was stronger than any Jedi I had ever met, even Anakin.

Well, that wasn't quite true. My father's Force-signature was extremely potent to me, but only to me – because I was his daughter, and we were linked by bond and blood. It didn't mean his midi-chlorian count was high, it just meant that the Force-signature was very familiar to me because I was his biological daughter.

In any case, since her Force-signature was so strong and she clearly wasn't related to me, I could only come to one conclusion – she was very powerful.

Even without the Force, it seemed, her Jedi training had become part of her. Her stride was smooth and even, even after spending a while hanging in a stasis field. Her eyes were alert and wide awake, even though I suspected due to the electric restraints she had gone without sleep for a while too. And her reflexes – they were amazing. I knew I certainly would not have been able to recover in time to break my fall via rolling. But somehow, someway, she had.

She skidded suddenly to a stop and whirled into a nearby room. When I followed her, she was reaching for her lightsaber.

_Wow. That was fast._ "How'd you do that without the Force?" I asked, my curious winning out over the awkwardness between us.

She turned, smiling. "Experience. And keeping your eyes open helps a tad bit," she added teasingly.

I grinned back, relieved she had a sense of humor. All too often, the Jedi who didn't were the ones who reacted so adversely to the relationship between my Master and me, and the fact that he was my father.

"Speaking of which," she continued, "what's your name, apprentice?"

"A – " A flicker of movement caught my eye. "Wait, get down!" I shouted as droids burst in, blasters blazing.

She was already moving before the last word left my lips. Her lightsaber blazed into existence – a midnight blue existence that flashed through a droid in a sweep that had started even before she activated her blade. By the time that droid crumpled to the ground in sputtering parts, she was already hurtling through the air to separate the rest.

I ignited my own lightsaber and charged after one half of the separated droids. The Force responded easily to my call, flowing around me and guiding my movements.

At the same time, I reached for my father. He was already on his way, and my message spurred him on even faster.

"Where's your Master?" she shouted over the commotion.

"On his way!" I called back.

"Great! Then just keeping moving, and don't let them surround – "

Her sentence ended in a sudden strangled cry of pain. I whirled around in horror as the Force rippled with warnings of danger and distress.

She had fallen prey to the very same thing she had warned me about – and she didn't have the Force to help her get out of it.

The half she had taken had succeeded in forming a tight circle around her. She had severely decimated their numbers, but there were still enough to surprise and possibly even kill her. Her lightsaber work was amazing, but without the Force there were holes in both her offense and defense.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't as powerful as I'd thought.

But why else would her Force-signature seem so strong to me? She wasn't related to me; I had never even met her before, I was sure.

_Aurora, focus!_ my father ordered. His voice was strained as he caught glimpses of the sight in front of me from our bond.

_Right. Focusing now, Dad_, I said dryly. I launched myself at the droids, cutting them down in swift and boring Form I maneuvers that my father would have sighed or shaken his head at. But they were the easiest and fastest at this point, and I was going to efficiency and speed.

After I had succeeded in cleaving the droids into parts, she leaned against the wall tiredly, breathing heavily and trembling from the exertion. That was the only clue I got before she sank to the floor and faded into unconsciousness, the lightsaber rolling from her limp hand as blood started pooling around her.

And then my father burst inside.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
The first thing my eyes went to when I burst in the room was my daughter. She was fine – but she had a horrified expression on her face . . . and it wasn't about the droids scattered into faintly smoking parts around the room.

My gaze landed on the woman she was staring at – and my heart _stopped_.

For one whole second, my whole body froze. My breathing stopped. My brain stopped. My heart thudded to a stop.

My whole being was centered around two syllables that described the one reason my heart keeping beating, the one thing that kept my going, the one love I would always have. . .

"Kya. . ."

Her name left my lips in a strangled hiss.

And then I was at her side, lifting her in my arms and cradling her to my chest.

Her head rolled back as I did so, and I saw to my horror the dark circles of exhaustion on her face and the strain in her face of enduring great pain.

My heart twisted in my chest.

"Pick up her lightsaber. We're leaving. Now," I said flatly, barely aware of my own voice, which suddenly sounded so alien to my ears, as though I had been deaf and was just hearing my voice for the first time.

But for some reason, my daughter did not question me or my voice. Aurora summoned Kya's lightsaber and trotted obediently after me as I strode towards our ship.

I didn't look back.

I only had eyes for the woman in my arms – and I prayed that I wasn't too late for the one I loved.


	70. Chapter 67

**_Chapter Sixty-Seven_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
There was no pain.

That was the first thing I became aware of when I finally regained consciousness.

Perhaps it was a strange thing to notice, but after having spent so much time as Sidious's prisoner, I hadn't felt much else – and my most recent imprisonment hadn't helped to change that expectation in the least.

I opened my eyes.

I was on a ship; I could feel the soft rumble of the hyperspace generator. I was also in a bed. Not too large, but comfortable and warm compared to the years I'd spent traveling on refugee transports. And I was in new clothes – a soft Jedi shirt and pants, both of which were a tad bit too large for me.

But I wasn't complaining. After enduring . . . uh . . . at Sidious's hands, my clothes were exactly in the best condition.

And there was something about these clothes. . . Something familiar. . .

Then the door slid open and someone entered quietly, shutting the door with a wave of their hand.

I stiffened – but then the figure threw back their hood, and my tensing was rendered completely unnecessary.

_Obi-Wan. . . _

Without thinking, I leaped from the bed and ran to his side, throwing my arms around him. His arms snapped up instantly to hold me closer as I buried my face in his shoulder. His warm voice soothed my ears and comforted me, making me feel safe and warm again, as I hadn't felt since the last time we had been together.

"I missed you," he breathed in my ear.

I tightened my grip. His close presence was bringing up a flood of memories . . . memories I liked. A lot.

And it was bringing up the burning fire that needed to be cooled. . .

"I need you." The words came out strained. I didn't like being reduced to this state. But I had no choice right now.

He rubbed my back soothingly. "I'm here." But his tone was confused; he clearly didn't understand what I really meant by my words.

I shook my head, clinging closer. "You don't understand. . . I _need_ you. . . Please, Obi-Wan. . ." I couldn't articulate my need any better than that.

Thankfully, when I said his name, my meaning seemed to click.

His eyes widened slightly. "Kya," he murmured gently, his voice soft. "Kya, are you sure? I don't want to hurt you. . ." His voice started becoming strained as well as my need started to affect him as well.

The Force had designed our bond far too well.

"Ben, please," I begged, slipping back into the nickname my old Master had used in the other universe.

He closed his eyes, trying to regain control. His breathing and heart rate accelerated, and he came very close to trying to push me away. But he couldn't; we were tied too closely together for that, for him to hurt me that way.

"Obi-Wan. . ."

That did it.

His control snapped, and he surrendered with a groan, sweeping me into his arms and claiming my mouth with a searing kiss.

**Later . . . **

I nestled deeper into his warm embrace, inhaling the scent of his skin. His fingers were gliding smoothly over my bare skin and through my hair, and I got the impression he was almost trying to memorize my features.

It didn't bother me.

After all, he was bonded to me, my soulmate, my lover. And we had gone without each other for _so long_. . .

He paused suddenly. "Why?" he asked.

I bit my lip. "I'm not really sure why," I admitted, blushing slightly. I knew exactly what he meant by his question, and the question in question embarrassed me a lot.

He chuckled warmly, sensing my embarrassment easily. "Kya, relax. It doesn't bother me. I just want to understand why."

I sighed, rolling over to face him. His blue-green eyes were at peace and sincere.

"I don't really know why. I think it has something to do with what a mate symbolizes," I said slowly.

His eyes flickered. "What do you mean by that?"

"I'm really powerful," I explained. "But I have weaknesses too. You're one of them."

"Meaning?" he prompted.

I smiled at his impatience, nudging him. _So, not much has changed. Still anxious to protect me._ "Let me finish, impatient one. A mate is a Walker's tie to . . . I don't know . . . staying . . . sane? . . . alive? Something like that. We need you to tie us to life."

"I see," he murmured thoughtfully, his eyes slightly out of focus.

I frowned. _What's wrong now?_ I wondered.

His eyes refocused instantly. "Nothing," he answered my nonverbal question, pulling me closer. "Just . . . I'm glad you're back. And I'll always be here when you need me," he added in a soft undertone.

I snuggled closer. "I know. I missed you . . . so much . . ." I had to choke the words out. They didn't seem enough to convey the aching pain that I had carried in my heart for the last twenty to twenty-five some years without him.

"Shh," he soothed, kissing me. "Hush. You're here now."

"Obi-Wan?"

"Hmm?"

"Why were you afraid that you would . . . hurt me?"

Obi-Wan sighed, his eyes darkening. "It's been so long. . . My control isn't quite what it was," he answered slowly. "I didn't want to test it on you. . ."

"You would never hurt me," I said immediately. And I meant it. He was my soulmate. Hurting me, for him, would be a thousand times worse than hurting himself.

"Perhaps. I still didn't want to test it on you."

I rolled my eyes. _Still overprotective._ But instead of feeling annoyed, as I usually had, I felt glad. It had been a while since anyone had thought so much about me and about my safety that it made me almost want to welcome it instead of tease him about it.

And then the rest of his words registered.

"How long has it been?"

The smile slid from his face at once. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"How long?"

"About thirteen years," he answered.

My eyes went wide and my jaw dropped. _Thirteen years? Only _thirteen_ years?_ I couldn't believe that. . . That couldn't be right. . .

Concern flashed through his face. "Kya? Kya, what is it? Kya!"

Instinctively I pressed closer to him, tucking my head under his neck. But I wasn't sure if I did so to reassure him – or to reassure myself. "Nothing's wrong. I'm just . . . surprised. That's all."

"About what?" Suspicion and concern warred in his tone, and I could feel how he had tensed, curling protectively around me, ready to defend me.

I was silent for a long moment. "How long it was."

"Why? What's wrong, my love?"

The epithet brought a smile to my lips. Hearing his warm, familiar voice speak it was endearing and soothing. "Nothing."

"Hmm." He shifted. "If you don't want to talk about it. . ."

"No! It's just . . ." I took a deep breath. "Well . . . for me . . . for me it was over twenty years."

Obi-Wan stiffened. "What?" he breathed in amazement. "Is that – Is that why you – Is that why you needed me?"

I flushed again. "Yes."

He stroked my hair. "It's fine, Kya," he murmured lovingly. "I understand now. . ."

I yawned as he spoke, unable to control my body's desire for sleep now that my desire for him was sated, and swiped at my eyes.

He smiled, his eyes sparkling. "Get some sleep," he urged softly.

Unconsciously, I clung tighter to him. I couldn't let him go. I had spent so long without him that now that we were back together I couldn't imagine losing him so quickly.

His arms tightened around me in return. "I'll be here when you wake up," he reassured me. He brushed his fingers lightly over my eyes, which were already closing of their own accord.

"Sleep, my love," he whispered.

"Love you," I mumbled, too tired to form a full sentence.

Then I succumbed to the call of sleep.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I shook my head, a fond smile on my lips, as Kya drifted off to sleep. _Finally. She can sleep in peace now._

It was a good thing she was exhausted. She needed the sleep.

What she had said about me, as her mate, was interesting, though. Basically, she had told me that a Walker needed his or her mate to stay alive and sane, and therefore the twenty some years she had spent apart from me had strained her so much that when she had returned the only thing she could do was fulfill her desires as soon as possible.

I knew she didn't like the idea. Kya didn't like being prey to her primal instincts, but as a Walker deprived of her mate, she had had little choice.

For her, it had been a "do it or die".

I was glad she had told me, though. I didn't want her to die, and as her mate, by the laws of the Walkers, it was my responsibility to do whatever in my power to protect her from anything and everything.

And consummating the bond _was_ something in my power to give to her.

I rested my head by hers, continuing to lazily trace patterns over her skin. I just couldn't let go of her now. I wasn't going to let go of her now. I had followed the proper Jedi rules for thirteen years since she and I had been separated, so right now I didn't really care about breaking them just this once.

I closed my eyes. I might as well get some sleep too, now that I knew she was safe and in my arms again.

My last thought before I drifted of was: _I wonder how she's going to react to the fact that her daughter is the one who saved her._


	71. Chapter 68

**_Chapter Sixty-Eight_**

~ _Aurora Ranor_ ~  
I was frowning when my father finally appeared in the cockpit. And then my frown deepened immediately when I finally looked at him.

Because he looked different. Really, really different.

My father had always been calm and impassive, only showing emotion when something bothered him deeply or he was no longer bound to maintaining his image of the perfect Jedi. Even my best attempts had never shaken his calm – that is, until I learned what to look for.

I had always had to look for little details to tell when emotion was simmering under the fringe of his control – a slightly blander look versus an impassive one; a firmer, more deliberate walk instead of a casual stride; slower and seemingly dual meaning word as opposed to quick and easy banter. Little changes that showed that things were amiss.

But now, strangely, instead of little details, they were way in front.

My father's eyes were bright and shining, as though he was the happiest he had been in a long time. His movements were fluid and relaxed, as though a great weight had been taken off his shoulders.

And his aura – it was now one of content, as though he didn't have a worry in the world.

This all made me very suspicious.

I mean, yes, I was glad that my father appeared better than he ever had. That wasn't what bothered me.

What bothered me about this was that he only appeared this way after he had spent the night with the woman, Kya.

I may have been young and inexperienced in the field, but I wasn't stupid.

"Morning, Dad," I said, trying to put as much casual cheer in my voice as I could. "You're late."

He flashed me a slightly amused look. "Since when have we been counting?"

"Since now."

"Very funny, Aurora."

My father usually wasn't one not to banter a little more, and I was surprised when he let the whole matter slide. But I was more surprised by his not cautioning me about calling him "Dad".

"Um, Dad?"

"Yes?" he murmured absently.

"Does this mean I can still call you that around her?" I asked hesitantly.

He finally looked up as he sensed the hesitancy in my tone. "Around whom?" he said, his tone genuinely confused.

"Her."

His eyes flickered strangely, as if he was hiding something. "You mean Kya?"

"Who else?"

His lips tightened slightly, and for a second he looked as I knew he looked to those who meant me harm – dangerous and powerful. But then the second passed and he relaxed. "Yes," he answered neutrally. "It won't bother her."

"Why – "

A noise in the doorway broke up the conversation as Kya herself entered. She looked a lot better, now that she was cleaned up and rested. Actually . . . she looked a lot more beautiful . . . and a tad bit . . . otherworldly, I supposed. Different somehow than a regular Jedi that I had never met. As if I had met her before . . . but in a different place, a different way. . .

I squashed the thought. That was ridiculous. I didn't have a perfect memory, but every Jedi knew how to use the Force to enhance our memory functions.

And I had no memory of ever meeting a Jedi called Kya.

"Morning," she said. Her voice was warm now, as warm as my father's, but also slightly polite and distant because she obviously didn't know me very well.

My father smiled at her. "Morning, sleepy-head," he teased.

A scowl erased her smile. "Since when are we counting, Kenobi?" she fired back.

"Now, obviously," my father retorted.

She rolled her eyes with a sigh. "I don't understand how your apprentice stands you," she murmured, shaking her head as though my father was an immature Initiate.

I was taken aback by the fluidity and easiness of their banter, as though they had known her other for years. But then again . . . Kya looked to be about my father's age, so they might have actually known each other before, as Padawans.

My father turned to flash a warm smile at me. "Oh, my daughter's used to it," he said.

I froze. _Dad, what are you – _

_Take it easy, Aurora_, he commanded absently, watching Kya.

Maybe it was a good thing he stopped me and turned my attention to Kya as she heard his words.

Kya froze as I did, her eyes flashing from my father to me and back again. "Your daughter?" Her voice was just one or two degrees down from impassive; I could hear a slightest of wavers in the two words.

My father kept her gaze evenly. "Yes."

Her breath caught. Then she whirled to me. "Apprentice, what's your name?" Her voice was almost pleading now.

"Aurora," I answered slowly, bewildered. Why wasn't she acting annoyed or frustrated? That was the reaction of most of the Jedi who disapproved of the fact that my father was a Jedi too. "Aurora Ranor."

Her eyes widened even more. "Impossible," she whispered.

I suddenly noticed how tightly she was griping the back of chair, as if she needed it for stability. And then she moved slowly to sit in it, all the while staring incredulously at me.

I shifted. "Um . . . Aren't you disgusted? Or annoyed?"

At my words, the mask was suddenly back on Kya's face and she looked as though she had never slipped. "No. Why, child?" There was a strangely . . . maternal air in her voice, as if she had known me.

"Most Jedi are. . ."

Kya laughed. "I am not most Jedi. Besides . . . I knew your mother. You remind me of her."

My breath caught. "You knew my mom?"

"Aurora," my father chided. "Let Kya rest, shall we?"

"Dad – "

"Padawan."

I snapped my mouth shut. I knew better than to argue with my father when he took that tone. This was his Master voice, the one he used when he was no longer talking to be as my father but as my Master, someone to be obeyed at once.

Needless to say, I hated it.

Especially in this case. I mean, there was barely anyone who even had known my mother. Barely. And those that did were often loathe to speak about her, not even the tiniest detail or recollection. Even and perhaps especially my father.

But I obeyed it nonetheless.

Inside, however, was a quite different matter. There, I made a silent promise. _I'll interrogate her about my mom later._

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
As soon as Aurora was off the ship, moving to greet the Masters on the platform, I whirled on Obi-Wan and let all of my control fly out the window.

"Our _daughter_ is your _apprentice_?" I hissed at him.

He merely grinned at the expression on my face.

I sank back into the chair, my face in my hands. "Your apprentice," I repeated in a mumble to myself.

"Kya? What is it?" Obi-Wan's voice slid from amused to concerned as he saw my reaction. He pulled me into his arms.

I went numbly along with motion, only realizing the concern in his voice when I found my face buried in his chest. Instinctively, I curled into his embrace, molding my body to match his so that he was offering me the protection and stability I craved now.

"I'm fine. It's just – a lot to – to take in," I murmured.

He stroked my hair, his concern unappeased. "Are you sure? If you want to train her yourself, I'm sure the Council wouldn't mind. . ."

I snorted, pulling away so I could look him in the face. "Are you kidding? I'm still a Padawan myself, technically."

Shock crossed his face, and he frowned. His fingers slid through my hair again, and this time they found the long braid that I still had. His shocked eyes flickered to my face.

"You didn't take the Trials?"

"No. My Master . . . kind of . . . died, so . . ."

"Oh." I saw sadness cloud his face as he remembered his brief foray into the universe I had lived in – the death and the destruction he had seen there especially. "I'm sorry," he murmured, kissing my hair.

"It's all right. He is one with the Force now. I don't have to worry about him anymore. . ."

We stayed for that for a few minutes. It was such a relief for me to be able to let down my guard and talk about this kind of stuff. I had kept it bottled up for so long, knowing I couldn't say a word – and now, after so long, I was back with Obi-Wan and I could say it all.

Because he alone could know. Because he alone would understand. And because he alone loved me so much.

Perhaps having a mate wasn't such a bad thing after all. . .

Finally, he loosened his embrace. "Let's go greet the Council before Aurora gets suspicious, shall we?" he said.

I frowned at him. "She doesn't know?"

He shook his head. "That's your choice to make, not mine," he stated calmly.

I kissed him swiftly on the cheek, wondering how I'd lived so long without him. "Thank you," I murmured.

He laughed. "Come on, my love, let's get going. I want to see the expressions on the Masters' faces when they see you. . ."

I laughed along with him as we separated and made our way to the landing ramp.

After all, I wanted to see their expressions as well.


	72. Chapter 69

**_Chapter Sixty-Nine_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
Obi-Wan and I only made it down three corridors before we started laughing.

Honestly, the Council's reaction – well, the three Masters that had been there – had been downright hilarious.

It had been Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, and Luminara Unduli.

Master Unduli had been in the middle of discussing something with Master Gallia while Master Windu had been trying to start debriefing Aurora since, of course, Obi-Wan hadn't come down yet because he was with me.

Master Windu had stuttered to a halt in amazement when he had seen me coming down. Master Gallia's eyes had nearly bugged out of her face as she stared at me. And Master Unduli had barely managed to not jump, taken totally by surprise by my appearance by Obi-Wan's side.

Obviously, Obi-Wan had not seen fit to contact the Council about my return to this universe.

But the result had been funny all the same, even though I knew we shouldn't be playing games like that with Council members.

Aurora had been surprised and wary about the reactions I received. I saw the calculating look in her eyes that told me that her estimation of my abilities – coupled with her obvious dislike for me – had been way below what I was really capable of.

I didn't mind. I was used to people underestimating me.

Of course, when it was my daughter, it was slightly a bit more painful, but then again, she didn't know I was her mother, so it was excusable.

In any case, Master Windu had only barely managed to stutter out a greeting. And in the end, Master Unduli had had to take over and request me to a Council meeting to explain what was going on and to be debriefed.

I had agreed, coolly, knowing that Aurora was listening closely and not wanting to let anything slip.

Obi-Wan kissed the top of my head. "I've never seen the Councilors so shaken up," he said in a delighted tone. "It's a good thing that you shake them up so often. They need a reminder not to be complacent."

"Oh, be nice," I chided, leaning against him.

He sighed, enveloping me in his arms. His voice softened as he continued. "I'm glad you're back. I was so worried that you would get yourself into a scrape even I couldn't get you out of."

"I – "

"Obi-Wan, what's this?" came a friendly voice.

Obi-Wan's head snapped up and for a moment his arms tightened protectively around me. I turned just as he relaxed, telling me that it was someone he knew and trusted. His reaction didn't bother me; I knew that his protective tendencies were in full force now that I was back after so long away.

The sight that accompanied the voice was enough to make me smile.

I pulled out of Obi-Wan's arms and moved to hug Tahl as Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon clasped hands in the traditional Jedi greeting.

"Tahl, Qui-Gon," I said after we had all exchanged greetings. "It's so good to see you."

"And you, young one," Qui-Gon said with a laugh, watching us with a keen eye. "You don't look as though you're past twenty."

I blushed slightly, and Obi-Wan laughed, sliding an arm around my waist and hugging me close.

"It's a good thing you're back, though," Tahl said, elbowing Qui-Gon lightly. "Aurora needs a mother. I'm not a very good substitute."

"I'm sure you are better than I will," I said with a sigh. "Especially seeing as I've spent the last . . . well, it's been a long time since I sat down and acted like I was part of a family. . ."

Obi-Wan seemed to sense the sad tint to my thoughts. He hugged me gently. _You'll do fine,_ he assured me. _And I'm sure Aurora will welcome her real mother. She misses you. And she loathes that no one has ever told her anything about you._

I stared at him in shock. "She doesn't know anything about me?" I was so startled that I spoke aloud.

Tahl shook her head slowly.

"We thought it would be best if _you_ told her your story," Qui-Gon said finally. "No one knows it better than you, after all; not even Obi-Wan."

I leaned against Obi-Wan. _How can I tell her that I abandoned her? How can I even tell her that I am her mother when I have been absent all of these years? How can I even claim the right to be called her mother?_

Obi-Wan tilted my chin up so that our eyes met. _You_ are _her mother, Kya. And you have the right to say so. Aurora will never have a stepmother._

_Or a stepfather._

He smiled. _See? You'll be fine._

We were interrupted by the sound of Qui-Gon clearing his throat. "When you're done speaking silently to each other," he said pointedly, "there's someone I want you to meet."

I frowned. "Who?"

The moment I said that, a young man appeared by Qui-Gon's shoulder. He was tall, almost as tall as Qui-Gon, and had sandy blonde hair and light blue eyes that were dancing with amusement. He looked to be in his early twenties, but he had no Padawan braid, which told me he had undergone the Trials rather early – earlier than most Jedi, anyways.

"Recognize me, sis?" he said.

I broke out into a broad smile. The friendly term of address clicked immediately with his appearance, and suddenly I knew exactly who this young man was.

"Anakin!"

When I stepped back from our embrace, I looked up and realized just how tall he had become. He certainly was no longer the nine-year-old boy I remembered.

"You've grown," I commented.

"Like a sprout," Obi-Wan added sourly with a teasing undertone to his voice. "By the Force, I swear he shot up overnight. One day, he's this little nine-year-old and the next he's so tall that you have to tilt your head back just to make eye contact!"

We all laughed as Anakin scowled, but as I turned back to Obi-Wan, a glint of sunlight caught my eye – and I saw the simple gold ring on Anakin's hand.

"You married Padmé?" I asked.

He grinned. "I proposed right after I was Knighted, about a year ago. Master Windu wasn't, ah, thrilled about my lack of decorum there."

I shook my head with a helpless laugh. "I can just see it too."

"You'd swear the boy was running away from a bath," Tahl chimed in, smiling affectionately at Anakin.

He made a face. "I just didn't like baths. Give me a break."

"He was afraid of water," Obi-Wan confided to me in undertone, his eyes sparkling with laughter and amusement at Anakin's plight.

"I heard that!" Anakin snapped, scowling.

Of course, that only made us laugh more, but I didn't mind at all. It felt . . . right, being here, laughing with friends and teasing Anakin about his younger days and feeling the comfort of Obi-Wan's close proximity.

It felt like . . . home.

~ _Aurora Ranor_ ~  
When I heard a loud and sudden outburst of laughing, I immediately skidded to a suspicious halt and peeked around the corner. It wasn't that laughter was uncommon in the Temple; it just . . . it just normally didn't happen in the corridors.

The sight there was almost enough to coax me out of the shadows . . . almost.

Qui-Gon. Tahl. Them I knew well. Qui-Gon had been my father's Master, and practically my grandfather in that respect. My father still looked up to him for guidance, and so did I. Tahl treated my father like her son, and so she treated – or, as my father said, spoiled – me like a granddaughter, as she had no children of her own.

Unless you counted Anakin, who I could see there as well. He had been like the older sibling I had never had, watching out for me and playing with me and shielding me against the criticisms and teasing of some of my classmates, who looked down on me for being the daughter of a Jedi.

And my father was there. My father was practically my whole world – he was all I had in terms of real family. And I was all he had. Some of my classmates thought it ridiculous that he should also be my Master, but I didn't mind. He was a great Jedi and a good teacher, even though he was my dad too.

That scene was perfect.

That scene, I might have strolled calmly in to and joined the conversation. And in that scene, Tahl would have hugged me and Qui-Gon would have tousled my hair and Anakin would have picked me up and swung me around and my dad would have placed a confident and affectionate hand on my shoulder.

But they were not the only ones there.

That woman – Kya – she was there too, right in the center.

_That_ was why I paused and did not enter the conversation and only waited and watched to see what would happen.

And so I could only watch in silent astonishment and fury as _my father_ slid his arm affectionately around Kya's waist and she rested her head on his shoulder.

_What in the name of the Force _are you doing_, Father?_ was my frantic thought. My father had told me that he would never love another woman besides my mother, whoever she was and wherever she was. No other woman.

And yet, here he was, in the open putting his arm around her waist!

This was an insult that could not be afforded. I would have to talk to my father about this later. He had no right dishonoring my mother's memory this way.

Closing my eyes, I gathered the Force to me and concentrated hard so I could hear what they were saying that was making them laugh.

" . . . told Aurora yet?" Anakin was asking.

_Why are they talking about me?_ I wondered privately.

"No," my father said. "Not yet. That . . . Kya's decision . . . hers alone."

I fumed. There was an air of protection in his voice, one that I had never heard before. But it was strong, stronger than even his voice had been when I was concerned. I doubted my father even recognized it.

But I did – and it was, again, directed towards that woman!

" . . . afraid to tell Aurora . . . truth?" Qui-Gon asked.

There was a pause.

"Yes," Kya said. "I do not think . . . She won't forgive . . ."

"She will," Tahl said, a tone of reassurance in her voice. "You . . replace . . . her mother."

_No, she most certainly will _not_ replace my mother!_ I wanted to scream. _Even Tahl is more of a mother to me that this – this – this woman who _presumes_ to take my mother's place in my father's heart!_

Just then, my father and Kya bid farewell, and the group broke apart.

I whirled around and stalked to the Room of a Thousand Fountains. Maybe I could get some meditation in and calm myself.

Then I would figure out how I would confront my father about this whole business.


	73. Chapter 70

**_Chapter Seventy_**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
When we entered the Council chambers, I reluctantly let go of Kya's hand and folded my hands into my sleeves, as was traditional. I really wanted to just hold Kya and not let her go until I finally managed to wrap my head around the idea that she was finally home and safe, but I knew that throwing evidence of my attachment to Kya into the faces of the Masters of the Council was not a good idea.

"Jedi Kenobi," Master Dooku greeted. "Jedi Ranor."

He did not seem surprised to see Kya, which was more than the rest of the Council could claim. Whispers travelled the room before quieting seconds later. Even Master Yoda blinked sleepily at her in surprise for a moment before settling.

"_Padawan_ Ranor, Master Dooku," Kya said calmly.

Now even Master Dooku blinked. "I beg your pardon?" he asked.

Kya reached back and let her hair fall down unhindered. A Padawan braid swung down to rest on her right shoulder, as was traditional.

"You remain an apprentice, even after all this time?" Master Gallia asked with a frown.

Kya didn't twitch. "To protect what remained of the Order, those who survived went into hiding I was separated from my Master during that time," she explained. She paused before adding, "He died shortly after I returned to him."

"Why didn't you take the Trials then?" Master Koon asked.

Kya was silent for a moment. "I was not going to be part of the New Jedi Order there. Therefore it was better if the Masters who survived focused their energies on training those who would become part of the new Order."

"And you – were you involved?" Master Unduli asked.

Kya's lip twitched. "Slightly. But I was only there to help, not to train. I was still an apprentice myself, after all."

"I see. . . And there was no one else to train you in your Master's stead?" Master Windu questioned.

Kya shook her head. "There was no time to seek out any of the surviving members of the Order. I had to fight with the Rebel Alliance and fulfill my mandate."

"Mandate?" Master Windu repeated in surprise. "What mandate?"

"To protect what remained of the new Order from the Sith; what else?" Kya shot back, obviously growing frustrated with the repetitive questioning.

_Calm down, my love_, I advised. _They haven't seen you in thirteen years. . . Give them a chance to recall exactly whom you obey and where your loyalties lie._

_Well, it's certainly not with them yet._

I stifled a laugh. _What happened to your patience?_

_When you're around a rambunctious kid for over twenty years, you tend to lose your patience when the adults act worse than the kids, Obi-Wan._

_Point._

Master Dooku cleared his throat pointedly, obviously having realized that our bond was still functioning – especially the verbal part of it. "Padawan Ranor, the Council would like to know exactly what your mandate was. You can show or you can tell; it's your decision."

Kya's eyes flickered to me briefly, and I could feel her hesitation.

It made me concerned. What could possibly be so bad that she would not wish to show us? Or, rather, me?

"As you wish," Kya said after a long moment. But there a note – well, more than a mere note – of reluctance in her voice.

It was a reluctance, however, that I understood.

After all, the Masters had not exactly reacted so kindly to her memories last time she had confronted them.

She turned to me, and I could see the flicker of fear in her eyes. There were things, I knew, that she would not want to reveal. Things that were tied too deeply to who she was and who she had become.

Things that scared her.

_You'll help?_ she asked.

I reached forward, taking her hands in mine and no longer caring that the Council would see. _Always_, I promised softly.

~ _Tahl_ ~  
I heard the door open and close, but before I could turn around Aurora's voice echoed out into the hallway.

"It's me," she called.

"Hi, sweetie," I said as she appeared in the kitchen. "How are you? You staying for dinner? You can invite your father and – and, we can go out somewhere."

_Oops. I almost said 'and your mother'. I have to watch my tongue better._

"Where is my father anyways?" Her voice was casual . . . almost _too_ casual.

"Probably still with the Council," I said with a sigh, pouring a cup of tea and handing it to her. "They're known for holding abnormally long debriefings, unfortunately."

She paused. "Where's Kya?"

I kept my voice cool, not showing how her query unnerved me. "Probably also being debriefed."

"Why together?" Aurora' s voice was sharp now, as if she was actually angry at her mother – although, granted, she did not know that Kya was her mother as no one had told her yet.

I turned to her with one eyebrow raised. "Because your father found her, and because they worked together when they were young. They were a formidable team, Kya and your father. Very strong. And very hard to beat."

Aurora poked at her drink. "What about my mom?"

I sighed, leaning against the sink. "Aurora, I've already – "

"Why can't anyone tell me about my mom?" Aurora demanded. "She was my _mother_!"

"Is," I corrected absently. "And we do not speak because it is your mother's story to tell, and hers alone. I doubt even your father knows the whole story."

"Why?"

"Your mother had many enemies, child. It was her way of protecting you, should someone decide to come after you," I told her.

That seemed to silence her for a long moment. "I wish she was here," Aurora whispered finally.

I turned back around. "You'll find her one day. She promised you and your father she would return." _And she has, thank the Force._

"What? When?"

I could not blame Aurora for being excited at my words. It was the greatest concessions one of us had ever made about giving information about her mother to her.

I hadn't exactly agreed with Obi-Wan's decision to hide such things, but I supposed he had the right to decide what had to be done. Aurora was his child, and Kya was his soulmate. He had a better idea of who and how Aurora might be harmed if one of Kya's enemies came after them.

"One day."

"_When?_"

"When you are ready, child."

"How would she know that?" Aurora grumbled, but I could see the hope in her eyes.

I could only pray that it would be that hope that would allow Aurora to forgive Kya for leaving her for all these years.

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I knelt on the floor as the Councilors settled themselves into trances so that we could connect our minds and they could see what I remembered. I no longer needed a bridge, like last time; my power had grown enough that I could protect myself – and the ones watching me.

However, Obi-Wan had insisted on remaining anyways – something that I was immensely grateful for.

Because now more than ever I needed his strength, his protection, and his love.

_Do you think they are ready?_

_As ready as they are going to get, my love_, Obi-Wan replied.

I bit my lip. _No matter what they do, they'll never be ready for what they'll see._

Obi-Wan reached forward and hugged me briefly, brushing his lips over mine. The action was met with some mutterings from the Masters, but he ignored them.

_Do what you think is right_, he urged.

I looked into his blue-green eyes. _Are _you_ ready for what you will see?_ I asked quietly. _Most of it is not . . ._

It wasn't pleasant, what I remembered. I wasn't sure _I_ was willing to subject him to the bad things in my past – the things I had endured, the things I had seen, the things I had suffered.

Whatever had hurt me would hurt him too.

Especially he would feel so guilty for not being there to protect me, even though that was impossible.

His grip around me tightened as his eyes softened. _I will never let go of you; you know that. Whatever demons are in your past are in your past._ He rested his forehead against mine. _I won't let them hurt you anymore. You're safe._

I leaned into his embrace, basking in the warmth and comfort and security. It was so rare and so peaceful here, where it was just him and me and I didn't have to worry.

_This_ was my home. A place without fear, without anger, without hurt. Just love and peace and security.

But it didn't last.

I turned, pulling away, and looked at Masters Windu and Yoda. They – along with the rest of the Council – were watching with an expression that a strange mix of expectancy and wariness and curiosity, as if they were dying to know what they are expected yet were wary of how it might manifest in my mind.

The thought made me smile grimly.

They were right to be wary. And they had the right to be curious about just how badly things had turned out.

They did not, however, have the right to expect anything.

And _that_ was what I would show them now.

"I'm ready," I said quietly.


	74. Chapter 71

Some people asked me what happened aboard the Death Star. In order to speed up the reunion between Obi-Wan and Kya, I decided not to write a chapter on it and to preserve it as a memory. Therefore, some of the important scenes mentioned in the interlude will be shown here and in the next chapter.

* * *

**_Chapter Seventy-One_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I opened my mind completely for the first time and experienced a multitude of different sensations that I never had before in my life – and I was amazed at the clarity of my senses, as though before the world had been hazed and foggy and misted and only now was I seeing the true, straight, perfect world.

My bond with Obi-Wan hummed to life, filling with power and connecting me more solidly to him than I ever had been before.

The minds of the Masters joined with mine, bringing their awe and surprise and wariness as well.

And Coruscant – Coruscant was brimming with energy, with emotion, with _life_. I could sense each heartbeat; I could feel each breath; I could see the energy. Every surge of emotion was my own; every motion of movement was my own; every flare of thought was my own. I could see each fault line, each inner strength, each bright light. Coruscant – the world of metal, the planet of steel, the globe of light – was alive in every sense of the word.

I – the Force – we were one. This crystalline, living, perfect world was part of the Force – and it was part of me.

And then I came back to myself when Obi-Wan's mind brushed against mine, and I was reminded that I had a purpose – a duty – a life. I could not drift off.

I sent him silent thanks, and thanked the Force for giving me a mate. If not, I might have drifted off and been lost in the power of the Force. Walkers had, before. It was . . . intoxicating. But thankfully, those with mates were bound to the living, and they protected us from falling to that fate – as Obi-Wan protected me.

I regained my focus, accessing the memories of the years I'd spent under the control over the Empire in my home universe.

It wasn't easy. For one thing, being watched by twelve Masters of the Council was never very good for being calm and centered. For another, these weren't very good memories, and I did not like the idea of re-experiencing them.

But I had to. I had to show them, to explain, to warn – and I didn't want to tell them.

Because this was going to be painful enough to _show_ them. I didn't want to actually have to tell them – and tell them how I had failed.

I reached for my memories and let them rush into my mind's eye.

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
For a moment, when the memories swirled, they overwhelmed me. The scents, the sounds, the feels, the sights, the tastes – they weren't mine and yet I felt them as my own.

But then Kya regained control, and a memory came into focus.

_With the memory came the sensation of strong winds and biting sands and a gritty taste. And then I was standing on a sandy planet, one that I recognized as Tatooine. But this Tatooine was tainted by sadness and anger and pain – things that were not mine._

_ They were Kya's._

_ She stopped at the entrance to some sort of hut nestled in the cliffs after pausing and staring for a moment at the landspeeder parked before it._

_ Then an old man emerged, ducking under the door with a fluid grace only a warrior could have at his age. He paused for a moment and smiled broadly at Kya, spreading his arms in welcome to her._

_ She raised a single questioning eyebrow, tilting her head in the direction of the landspeeder._

_ In return, he tilted his head in the direction of the hut._

_ She studied him for a moment before sighing and going to him, hugging with the affection of a daughter for a father. It was obvious that they had not seen each other in a while, and that they cared for each other deeply._

_ "I'm sorry that I didn't meet you; as you can see, I was slightly . . . diverted," the old man said when they separated._

_ She rolled her eyes. "Indeed, I see, Master. I can see now that all of my worrying and frustration and questions were useless." Her voice was sarcastic, but there was an amused, relieved undertone to them – she was just playing around._

_ He chuckled, tugging lightly on her hair. "It's Luke's," he explained, gesturing to the landspeeder._

_ Her smile vanished and she straightened sharply. "Luke? Why?"_

_ "He was wandering, and he got himself attacked by some Tusken Raiders. I had to save him, and I brought him here. He knows, now," he added softly._

_ For some reason, anger glinted suddenly in Kya's sapphire eyes. "He knows? Already? You barely know the boy, Master!"_

_ It was the second time she called him that, and it was then that everything clicked. This was Kya's Master. That was why they greeted each other so affectionately and seemed to understand each other so well._

_ And for some odd reason, it made me . . . I didn't know. I felt weird._

_ The man shrugged. "I think I can trust him."_

_ Kya's breath whooshed out as she exhaled and whirled around angrily. "Sometimes I think killing you would be a better way to protect you from these – "_

_ "Don't you dare!" came a shout._

_ Kya ducked smoothly just as a young man charged out, blue blade flashing in the sun as he slashed at her. Kya easily reached out with the Force and, raising her hand, pushed the man back until he fell in the dirt._

_ When he made to get back up, Kya ignited her own lightsaber pointedly._

_ The man froze. "You're a Jedi?" he asked._

_ She sighed, deactivating her lightsaber, and rolled her eyes. "Most obviously, Luke." She spoke as if they had known he other for a long time, and yet – from this Luke's response – I could see that it was not so for him._

_ "You know who I am?" he asked suspiciously._

_ At this, the old man stepped in, and said, "Luke, this is my friend, Kya Ranor. She often joins me here, on my solitude on Tatooine."_

_ "Why?"_

_ Kya put out her hand. "Get up first, and in the house. Then we can sit down and explain like civilized people."_

And then things changed. . .

_ The old man grabbed her shoulder. "Kya . . . Don't feel guilty for Princess Leia or for Alderaan. It wasn't your fault."_

_ Kya shrugged his hand off. "I could have stopped it, though. . . I could have done _something_. That was what I _supposed_ to do; it was _my_ job, my responsibility. . ." Her voice was strained and full of pain, as though she was full of agony and self-reproach for failing._

_ Thus, I was in full agreement when the man frowned. _

_ "Kya . . . You are too liable to blame yourself. Do not. It was not your fault and never will be."_

_ "Tell that to Bail," she said in a whisper._

The scene whirled away. . .

_"What is Ben doing?" a young man whispered to Kya as they crept across some sort of hangar. It was the same young man, I noted, who had charged Kya earlier, but now he did not seem adverse to her at all. A young woman and another man and a Wookie were with them now as well._

_ "I don't know," Kya responded, her voice full of anxiety._

_ Then the old man looked across to them and winked slightly._

_ Kya froze at the same time that the young man suddenly ran across the room, staring with confusion at the old man. Her expression was a mixture of horror and realization and pleas._

_ Pleas the old man ignored._

_ For then he closed his eyes – and a brilliant red lightsaber flashed through him, slicing through his neck as the old Jedi fell._

_ "No!" the young man cried._

_ Anguish swept through Kya, and I saw how she barely kept from falling to her knees as well. Something shattered in her mind as her Master died, and a howling storm of rage and anger and sadness engulfed her._

Before I could do anything, though, the scene vanished into darkness. . .

_"Luke's going up," a male voice was saying as the next scene resolved. "And you, Master Jedi?"_

_ "No. I'll remain on the base." That was Kya's voice, firm and weary, as though she'd just seen too much of death and destruction and war. As if she was operating on only what the Force and training could give her, as opposed to her actual personal strength as herself._

_ Hearing that voice hurt. I had never heard Kya like that. It was like she was running low on morale and personality and high on food and caf. _

_ A Jedi should never sound like that._

_ But they were still talking, and I forced myself to concentrate._

_ The man was protesting her words. "But, Master Jedi, there's no point in you remaining here! You'll do much better fighting with the pilots. Your achievements are renowned all over the galaxy when you fought in the Clone Wars!"_

_ Kya smiled faintly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "Those achievements were the work of my Order, not me. . . I rarely fought in space battles."_

_ The man remained stubborn. "Not according to the Holonet."_

_ Kya frowned. "I will be more use here, on base, if Vader decides to send a strike team to take out what little defenses we have."_

_ "Why would Vader do that? Please, Master Jedi, I urge you to reconsider – "_

_ At this, Kya turned sharply to face him. "No, General. I will not reconsider. As to why Vader would do such a thing – isn't it obvious? They have already seen that the Alliance concealed the existence of one Jedi; they will be looking for others."_

_ Then Kya walked off, leaving the man staring after her._

Seeing Kya's fire was comforting. _That_ was what I remembered about her – her fire. It told me that she, at least, had not lost everything, that this universe had not taken everything from her. It had changed her and made her who she was – but at least she had not lost herself in it, as she had lost her Master and her friends and her family.

But I knew that the loss would forever be a part of her, even now. You couldn't just _forget_ losing everyone who had meant something to you. Not even time could heal that.

All I could hope for was that time could, in her own way, help the wound close and remind her that some of those that she loved and that loved her remained among the living, and that we would be there for her.


	75. Chapter 72

**_Chapter Seventy-Two_**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
_Something happened. Something changed. Time passed._

_ That was the only sensation I got from Kya's memory as it slowly unfolded again. And then . . ._

_ The scene resolved into some sort of council or meeting or something. It was something very formal and exclusive, as I could see the tenseness and formality with which the seated people conducted themselves._

_ Then Kya entered, her face calm._

_ "Please, sit, Master Jedi," one of the women said. _

_ With a shock, I recognized her as Senator Mon Mothma of Chandrila. So she was involved with the Rebel Alliance?_

_ After a second, it seemed to make sense. She was one of the Senators who had voted for peaceful measures during the Naboo War, and she was extremely loyal to the Republic's Constitution. And the name Kya had muttered earlier, Bail – that would have to Senator Bail Organa, yet another loyalist._

_ Kya sat. "You called me?" The sentence was casual, but in a way formal. Despite her tone, it was clear that Kya had stated and not inquired._

_ "Yes," affirmed one of the men. It was the same one Kya had spoken to earlier, in her last memory._

_ Kya's eyes narrowed slightly. "I assume, then, that you have already spoken to Luke and extracted his allegiance and loyalty to the Alliance?"_

_ Several of the people bristled at her words. Senator Mothma calmed them with a pointed look before saying, "Master Jedi, we do not . . . _extract_ anything from those who wish to join us. They do so out of their own free will – unlike the recruitment of the Empire."_

_ "Peace, Councilors," Kya said, raising a hand. "I meant it as a question of affirmation, not a comment on your procedures."_

_ "Question? For what?" asked a young woman. It was the same one, I realized, that had been running with Kya when they were fleeing across the hangar. She was still dressed in white, but she had changed into something else, at least._

_ Kya smiled slightly. "You wish me to join the Alliance as well, don't you?"_

_ Now there was more shifting amongst the men and women, although Senator Mothma's eyes only sharpened._

_ "I see the years have not dulled the senses of the Jedi," she commented._

_ "Why should they?" Kya responded. "If my senses were to be dulled by years, then so too would the Emperor's."_

_ Frowns. "What, is he a Jedi?"_

_ Kya frowned, then, her eyes darkening with anger. "No," she said forcefully. "Palpatine has never been one of my Order."_

_ "Back to the issues at hand," the young woman in white said hastily. "We would like to extend a formal invitation to you, Kya Ranor, to join the Alliance to Restore the Republic and help us in all of our endeavors against the Empire."_

_ Kya was silent for a long moment. Then she sighed and leaned forward. "Luke has joined you, hasn't he?"_

_ "Yes."_

_ Another long pause. Then Kya closed her eyes briefly, wearily, as if she really didn't like whatever she was going to do next._

_ "Very well," she said. "I shall join the Alliance, and you are free to spread the tale that the Jedi of old have returned." _

_She stood as elation crossed the faces of the people. No doubt they had really, really wanted her to join and now were planning everything that was now within their reach with the hand of a Jedi extending their control and possibility._

"_But listen well, Councilors," she warned. "Do not spread my name. I know Vader of old, of before the Jedi Purge, and know that he will stop at nothing to strike at me and the Alliance if he knows who I am."_

I knew how much it had to have cost Kya to agree to do this. Despite her immense power, she hated fighting, hated war, hated suffering. She had seen far too much of it during her youth. But Kya had a duty, and I knew she would never turn her back on that. Not even the prospect of fighting would deter her from doing what had to be done.

Another meeting.

_It was Kya's thought, not mine, but I well understood it._

_Then the Force suddenly rippled, and she looked up just in time for a young man to enter the room and salute the general before engaging in conversation with him._

"_Who is this?" Kya asked a nearby person._

"_That? That is Kyle Katarn, Morgan's son," was the answer._

_Kya sighed and closed her eyes. "So Morgan kept his promise and honored you," she murmured softly. It was so soft that if I hadn't been in her head listening, I wouldn't have known she had spoken._

_For a second, I wondered who she was talking about. _

_But then someone else entered – the young woman in white – and at her side was another young woman, clad in demure clothes that only accentuated her brilliant white hair._

_Kya's breath caught._

Winter.

_That thought wasn't mine either, but for some reason it excited me, as it excited her. This person, this woman, this _Winter_ meant something to Kya – and most likely meant something to me as well. . . _

_Before I knew it, Kya was standing in front of them._

"_Leia," she greeted the young woman in white._

_Leia smiled, taking the offered hand. "It's good to see you, Kya."_

_Kya ran a cursory glance over her. "Good to see that you escaped injury from your latest little escapade there." Then she transferred her gaze to Winter. "Who's this?"_

"_My name is Winter, Jedi Ranor," the young woman answered promptly. "Of Alderaan."_

"_Indeed? And your house?"_

_Winter hesitated, and Leia stepped in. _

"_We don't know. But Winter grew up with me, and she has saved my life on many an occasion. She has a perfect memory," Leia confided softly._

_Kya blinked. "So I sense. Well, it would seem that the meeting is beginning, so . . . Good day, ladies."_

I wondered what the importance of _that_ scene was. I could sense no tactical importance, no significance, no real importance at all. I decided I would ask Kya, later, why she had shown it.

_The first sensation was a voice speaking – a male voice, tinged with equal measures of authority and respect._

"_Princess . . . Master Jedi . . . we have a visitor," he said._

_As he spoke, Leia and Kya appeared, one after another. Kya looked strange compared to the others, although not because she was the only one wearing a Jedi uniform. . . There was something else strange. . . _

_Then I got it. No one else seemed untouched by cold. Even the general who had spoken was wearing more layers and seemed cold._

_ "We picked up something outside the base of zone twelve, moving east."_

_ "It's metal," said the controller._

_ "Then it couldn't be one of those creatures," Leia commented._

_ "It could be a speeder, one of ours," someone cut in – a young man, the other young man I had seen running with Luke and Leia across the hangar._

_ "If it was one of ours, I think we would know about it. And I can sense that High Command haven't sent anything to that zone," Kya said, frowning at the hologram, the Force curling around her as she tensed._

_ "Wait – there's something very weak coming through," the controller said suddenly._

_ There was a faint series of choppy electronic noises that came through. I saw Leia and the general exchange confused looks, while Kya's expression hardened and her hands tightened – she obviously knew what those noises meant._

_ "Sir, I am fluent in six million forms of communication. This signal is not used by the Alliance. It could be an Imperial code," called a protocol droid._

_ The general sighed and turned to Kya. "Master Jedi, do you – "_

_ "Yes. The Republic used this code for the probe droids that we issued. Obviously the Empire has not seen fit to change it," Kya said almost absently._

_ "How would you know this?"_

_ "General, with all due respect, I did serve alongside General Kenobi in the Clone Wars," Kya said sharply, turning to face the general. "Before these . . . stormtroopers became the symbol of the Empire, they served under Jedi commanders in specialized units. I was well-versed in their communication standards."_

_ "Then it isn't friendly, whatever it is," the young man decided. "Come on, Chewie, let's check it out."_

_ The general sighed as the young man tramped off with the Wookie. "Send Rogues 10 and 11 to station three-eight," he commanded._

_ "We'd better pray that they weren't doing some of the surveillances we used to do," Kya murmured._

_ "Why?"_

_ "Because we used to also take certain tests to see how much the Force has been used. If the droid was indeed taking this, then Vader will definitely know I'm here. And where I am, the Alliance is. I don't use the Force as much as I used to, but it is a lot more than what's normal for an ice planet like Hoth." _

There was a sensation of time changing, of voices sounding, of machines whirling again before the darkness cleared.

_"Has Solo reported back yet?" Kya was asking._

_ "No, Master Jedi."_

_ "Wait – here he is," Leia called._

_ I heard distant voices, voices that got louder as Kya moved towards the station where the general and Leia were._

_ "'Fraid there's not much left," Solo was saying._

_ "What was it?" Leia asked._

_ "Droid of some kind. I didn't hit it that hard. It must have had a self-destruct."_

_ "An Imperial probe droid," Leia affirmed, leaning back in her chair._

_ "That must be why. . . Solo, did Luke say he was going to check out something when we lost him last night?" Kya asked suddenly.  
"Yeah."_

_ Kya sighed, shaking her head forlornly. "Then it's most definitely an Imperial droid," she said sadly._

_ "It's a good bet the Empire knows we are here," Solo said._

_ They all exchanged sad glances. _

"_We'd better start the evacuation," the general said, moving off._

The scene blurred dramatically, as though there it was the last memory Kya would show.

But it wasn't.

_Kya pressed 'stop' and stood. Sadness tainted her aura, as though now more than ever she regretted her actions. She seemed older now, older beyond her years._

_ I understood why after a second._

_ Death hung in the Force._

_ Somewhere in the galaxy, a Jedi had died. Recently. And Kya had felt it._

_ "I'm sorry, Luke," Kya whispered. "I'm so, so sorry. . ."_

_ Anguish and sorrow filled Kya as she stepped away, as though she was being forced to rip out her heart and leave it behind. But I couldn't discern the source, for all that lay in front of her – all she was leaving behind – was merely a holoprojector with a recorded message on it._

Then, as darkness fell, shouts filled her memories. Weariness – resignation – surprise – fighting – defiance – rage. These emotions swirled into her mind, one right after another, each longer than the last.

It was obvious something had gone terribly wrong.

Then there was blinding pain in the right shoulder, as though someone was deliberately and clumsily burning her arm off.

And then . . .

_Exhaustion and pain was all that Kya felt, but still she struggled against the restraints that bound her and kept her from moving. In her line of vision, a cloaked man was slowly descending the steps towards a proud young man – Luke._

_ Then the cloaked man raised his hands . . . and crackling blue-white lightning spat at Luke._

_ The boy fell, screaming in agony as he failed to deflect it._

_ Kya struggled all the more, ignoring the needles of pain that raced up her arms and legs and torso with every movement. She was weary, for I sensed she had not slept or eaten or even drank in a long time, but still she fought for freedom._

_ As she fought, a man in a black suit slowly stood, moving to the cloaked man's side and impassively viewing the writhing Luke._

_ But then Kya broke free, and the Force rushed to her._

_ Within a few seconds, she was in front of Luke, absorbing the terrible lightning so that the cloaked man was forced to stop, as he was doing no damage._

_ Kya touched Luke's shoulder, and he moaned softly in pain._

_ Rage and helplessness filled her eyes before she whirled to face the man in the black suit._

_ "Is that all you do, Vader?" she snarled. "Stand by and watch this? To _allow_ this?"_

_ Vader remained silent – but in him, through Kya's senses, I sensed the inner turmoil within. He was struggling with some emotions due to this. Powerful ones, too, for I sensed that had he not worn a suit his expression would have reflected pure struggle._

_ "Do not interfere," spat the cloaked man._

_ Then the Force swelled around the cloaked man with incredible power, and a dark force closed Kya's throat and flung her back so that she crashed into the wall. _

_For a few agonizing moments, the lightning spat around Kya, draining what energy she had gained and sending pain roaring through her veins. Her eyes rolled back, and the world went dark._

_ Dimly, in the distance, the cloaked man said, "Now, young Skywalker . . . you will die."_

Skywalker_?_

_ As if to confirm that, Kya struggled to stand as screams from the young man echoed in the room, terrible – agonizing – heart-rending screams. I wondered how Kya could even have lived unscarred through this._

_ The young man screamed something at Vader, a plea of some sort that I couldn't hear._

_ And then – _

_ "He's your son!" Kya screamed, desperation in every syllable of her voice. "He's your _son_! Padm__é _died_ for him – for _you_!"_

_ For a second, all was silent in the Force. _

_ Then Vader suddenly moved, swifter than I thought he could have in that black suit – and suddenly the cloaked man was moving too, caught in the iron grip of Vader. The lightning still flashed around him, but no longer did it touch Luke._

_ And then Vader threw the cloaked man down a shaft._

_ Kya stood, grimacing with pain, and moved to Luke's side; the young man had ran to Vader's side the instant the cloaked man had vanished down the shaft._

_ Luke looked at her with desperate eyes. "Can you save him?"_

_ Kya shook her head, slowly, wearily. "No," she said quietly. "His respirator is broken."_

_ "I've seen you do things like that before," Luke insisted._

_ "Not anymore, Luke. . . I am not as young now, and this fight has drained me. . . I fear it will take all I have to help you get Anakin off this rock."_

_ "You'll help?"_

_ Kya turned her head to face the man who she had called both Anakin and Vader. "Obviously." Then she raised his voice. "Anakin. . . Don't give up yet. . ." Her voice softened. "Your son waits for you, Anakin; don't lost hope yet."_

The scene faded, and there was a sense of urgency and then respectful distance and then . . . a surge in the Force – and death.

Anakin . . . or Vader . . . or whoever he was . . . had died.

I had never known this person, but even I felt grief at his passing, despite the terrible deeds I knew he must have done to earn Kya's wrath.

_So now you know everything._

So saying, then Kya closed her mind, pushing all of us out and sealing her memories beyond a door which even I could not pass. The normal heavy shielding returned, cutting off the clear emotions we had been sensing from her. But this time the shielding was even more powerful, keeping out even me.

I knew she didn't want any pity from me now.

But even so, when I returned to my own mind and opened my eyes, tears filled them as I beheld my lover in a completely new light.

* * *

Okay, that's the whole series of memories, including some scenes from the Interlude where it was hard to tell who was talking when and whatnot. Let me know: Did I do this okay, or was I a bit heavy on the . . . well, anything?


	76. Chapter 73

**_Chapter Seventy-Three_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
I started, my eyes flashing open, when I sensed someone right behind me.

But then, as warm arms wrapped around me, I relaxed, leaning into the embrace that was being offered and closing my eyes again.

I had departed the Council meeting without any more words. I had said, I thought, enough. Perhaps even more than enough. But at least my obligation to them was fulfilled; they knew what they had wanted to know about me – about my home universe.

Not without cost, though.

The memories, so vivid already, were now lingering in my mind's eye with clarity that was even better. It made my stomach roil with the knowledge of what I had seen, what I had done, in my old home. The dead especially never left my mind.

Then lips pressed against my cheek, and Obi-Wan murmured, "Peace, my love. Don't linger on such poisonous thoughts."

I sighed. "Poison does not fade so easily."

He kissed my cheek tenderly, pulling me ever closer to him. "It wasn't your fault, you know. You needn't worry about it now."

I turned slightly, pressing myself against him. If there was one thing, at least here in this universe I felt safe. No, beyond safe – untouchable. Especially now, with the bond so powerful between us and his arms wrapped securely around me, lending me a feeling of security and protection that I had not felt for so long.

Obi-Wan's voice shifted. "I never realized how bad of a position you were in."

"I didn't want you to know."

"I can see that. Had I known . . ." He trailed off, his arms tightening as he stiffened. "Had I known, no one would have dared lay a hand on you, or given you so much as a scratch."

I turned completely, tucking my head under his neck. "Which is why it was a good thing you didn't know. I didn't need your protection," I murmured.

He sighed. "I know. . . You are powerful, Kya, but even the best can make mistakes. . . I do not want to see that day." I sensed him close his eyes. "I don't want to ever even come close to that possibility that you would suffer that fate."

Troubled, I opened my eyes. Obi-Wan had never expressed such doubts before; that he chose to do so now told me just how troubled he was by what he had seen in my memories.

"Obi-Wan," I murmured. "Obi-Wan, I am sure that day will never come."

He opened one eye and gave me a look that told me everything I needed to know. After all, I couldn't really be certain in what I was telling him. I didn't know the future, and using the Unifying Force had never been my strength. Always, I had been one with the Living, the present, the here – not the Unifying, the future, the then. Even worse, I could not predict where next I could be asked to do my duties; and now Obi-Wan would have to live with the knowledge that I was in danger and he could do nothing about it.

As my mate, my protector, my lover – well, that would pain him. Severely.

He sighed again. I leaned against him, trying to remind myself that it was time for me to live in the here and now.

"Kya," he said finally. "I cannot tell you how . . . painful . . . it is . . . to see you in such pain and anguish and not be able to do . . . anything."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

He shifted, and then a hand was at my right shoulder, moving the short sleeve up and brushing against the scar from the lightsaber burn there. His calloused fingers hesitated as they traced it and realized its origin.

I stiffened. I hadn't realized he had sensed the pain I had tried to hard to conceal.

"Obi-Wan – " I started to say.

His eyes flickered to me as he half-frowned, ignoring my plea. "A lightsaber?" he murmured, his eyes darkening and his lips thinning.

I looked down.

He sighed and pressed his lips to my forehead gently, trying to coax the answer out of me. "Kya. . . It's been so long. Do you still not trust me with these things?" he asked softly.

"I trust _you_."

His brow furrowed. "Then what is wrong?"

I leaned away to him, uncomfortable. "I don't trust _me_."

He tensed. "There is no reason for you not to trust yourself," he said, his voice containing an edge of protectiveness and a silent threat. "And if anyone has said otherwise, they are _gravely_ mistaken."

I lifted my eyes, seeing the determination and love that swirled in his blue-green eyes. He sincerely believed in his words – in me. Partly because I was his mate. He could not consider a life without me, and therefore believed I would live through it. But also, partly because he simply loved me. Not just because we were mates, but because he actually loved me.

The mixture in his eyes was familiar, though. He had had the same look in his eyes when we had fought Maul, when we had faced Vereora, and even when he had saved me from Sidious at great cost to his own wellbeing.

But in other ways, he had changed.

He was older now, wiser, more experienced. He had grown out of his Padawan hair cut as much as he had grown out of his Padawan mindset. He was more soft-spoken and not as impulsive, but within him the fire of determination and dedication burned all the brighter.

"You grew out your hair," I realized suddenly, touching it. "A lot longer."

He smiled slightly. "Well, I wasn't going to keep the Padawan cut my whole life. You, at least, have it easier with your long hair."

I scanned his face again. It was as familiar to me as my own, and I knew I valued the smile, the brightness, the love in it more than I valued my life. Even though, actually, it was my life that gave him those things.

But there was something . . . different. There was something about his face that nagged me, had nagged me from when I had seen him again – but I couldn't tell what it was. . .

And then it struck me.

"You didn't grow a beard?"

The smile vanished, and seriousness replaced the smile in his eyes. "No," he said slowly, shaking his head.

"Was it because of me?"

He was silent for a while, obviously trying to formulate a response. I let him. I wasn't going to push him for an answer that was so obviously personal. Not to mention the fact that I couldn't really claim the right to have been part of such decisions. . .

"It was really because of what I saw," he answered finally. "I saw myself, as I should have – could have been, were it not for your interference." He looked back down at me, his eyes softening. "But I know you knew that Master Kenobi, and I wondered . . . Would you really want to be reminded of that? Besides," he said hastily, "as you have pointed out, I am not him, nor will I ever be – not now. I did not want to be someone I am not. I am your Obi-Wan, and nothing else." He paused. "Unless you want the beard?"

I laughed, resting my head against his chest. "No, no. Just leave it."

"Then why did you ask?"

"I was curious."

"Ah."

I closed my eyes, pressing closer to him. "And you are right," I added softly. "I don't want to remember you with the fate of others. You _are_ different."

He stroked my hair. "I would not change for anyone but you, you know."

"I know." I let my voice drop even lower until it was just above a whisper. "And I thank you for it."

We were quiet then, and I felt at peace. Obi-Wan knew what had happened to me – well, he knew some of it – and he had not rejected me or grown angry. And I was freed from the burden of telling him and watching the pain in his face as he saw my pain.

But then – the Force only arranged life-bonds for those who were suited for each other. We were perfectly matched halves, Obi-Wan and me.

I was impulsive and reckless. He was less so.

He was protective. I was in need of protection.

I was fiery, with sharp edges and hard words. He was mild, with gentle touches and soft speech.

He offered stability. I needed a base, a rock, a foundation.

I was powerful, but with enormous weaknesses. He was less powerful, but also had fewer problems.

And he loved me. And I needed that love.

We were soulmates, he and I – never to be separated, never to be rejected, never to stop loving each other. In the worst of times, we were all each other had; someone who understood us entirely and would never abandon us no matter how dire and dangerous and deadly the situation was. In the best of times, we would be the ones watching the shadows for threats to the other, the one foolproof protection we could have.

Obi-Wan was that to me – and so much more.

"Kya?" Obi-Wan's voice had changed suddenly, as suddenly as he had spoken.

"Hmm?"

"Remember that no matter what happens, I will always love you."

I opened my eyes, startled yet again. It was almost impossible, how he had known exactly what he needed to say to lift my spirits.

He smiled slightly at the surprise that flickered through my eyes. "It wasn't hard to tell," he murmured. "Your emotions always turn . . . bleak . . . when you think of . . . of home."

I shook my head, intending to startle him for a change.

One of his eyebrows rose. "What were you thinking of, then?" he asked, genuine curiosity in his voice.

I leaned closer. "I was thinking of home. But that universe is no longer my home." I leaned even closer, so that I could feel his warm breath against my face, and whispered, "_This_ is my home now. Right here. With you."

"Oh, Kya. . ."

He pressed his lips against mine, gently and almost chastely, as if he was afraid I might run away as I had the first time we had kissed. Or as if he still viewed me as delicate and healing.

I gave myself up, kissing him with the passion to remind him of the strength of our bond and our love – and to not so subtly remind him that I was _not_ a delicate little flower that needed gentle handling.

I felt his gentle amusement, but he acquiesced, tightening his arms around me and kissing me a bit less gently.

I made a mental note to scold him for that.

Or . . . I would have . . . were it not have been for a little interruption that threatened to spell disaster for Obi-Wan and me. . .

"What are you _doing_?" came the screech.

I jumped, my eyes flashing open as I pulled away from Obi-Wan. At the same time, he tensed, moving to shield me with his own body as his own eyes snapped open to face the intruder who dared to interrupt.

But then he stiffened – not to protect me, but out of wariness and trepidation.

I understood when I looked for myself.

Aurora was standing there in the doorway.

And she had the expression of the utmost fury on her face.


	77. Chapter 74

As a side note, know that the one thing Aurora does know about her mother is that her last name is Ranor. That's why I have her POV titled as Aurora Ranor instead of Aurora Kenobi. Aurora took her mother's name as a way to honor the mother she never met, and as a protective measure so that no one knew she was Obi-Wan's kid.

* * *

**_Chapter Seventy-Four_**

~ _Aurora Ranor_ ~  
"Dad?" I called as the door shut behind me. "Dad?"

But there was no answer, much to my surprise. I frowned. The meeting with the Council had to be over now; I had glimpsed Masters Windu and Dooku sparring in one of the training salles not ten minutes ago. And my senses told me that my father had returned here or had been here recently, for through the Force this place sang with my father's Force-signature. So he had to be here. Or he had left a note for me or something saying where he had gone.

Closing my eyes, I reached for the bond that connected us. It was something that was one of the easier things for me to do, even though I was a new Padawan of only thirteen years of age. My father believed that it was because we were blood related.

I didn't think so.

My father was a good fighter, yes, and skilled at manipulating the Force, but his real strength lay in negotiation, in diplomacy, in mediation. He knew how to twist words, change thoughts, and present compromises.

My mother, on the other hand, seemed to be a gifted fighter, possessing a skill with the blade matched only by the greatest and best-trained of the Order. However, I had also heard that she didn't really like talking, preferring to be blunt rather than subtle.

And so I seemed to be in between. I was not the fighter my mother was said to be or the negotiator my father had become.

Nope. I was a healer – or, at least, a Jedi who relied more on the Force for more, shall we say, peaceful prospects. I didn't like to fight or to talk; I preferred healing the damage left by both.

Pity my connection to the Force didn't help me learn any faster, though. Aside from healing, everything else came to me at the normal speed, just like everyone else.

I reached out along the bond, seeking my father. I was surprised that he hadn't noticed me yet. Usually, he would sense my attempt before I would sense him. I didn't really mind, though. It saved me the effort.

_Dad?_

And then my probe slammed into shield.

I started. My father had his shields up, even around our bond. And not just his normal light shields that he used when not on a mission.

No, these were his serious practically impenetrable ones.

He had _never_ done that before. For all of my life, I had sensed his mind through our bond, even from when I had been too young to fully understand it. He had never blocked me out before.

I mean, I was his daughter. What reason could he have to shield his mind from our bond – from me?

The only thing I _could_ sense was that he was still in our quarters. _He's probably in his room_, I thought. Whenever he was here, he was usually in his room doing something – reports, meditation, sleeping – something.

Walking over, I pushed open the door. Maybe he was having a holoconference and didn't want to be interrupted or distracted. . . Or perhaps he was meditating again, and had unconsciously shielded himself from outside influence and interference, as was standard procedure.

All of my thoughts came to a screeching halt when I saw the real reason my father had shielded himself.

The shriek fell from my lips without any conscious effort.

"What are you _doing_?"

My father stiffened, breaking the kiss he had been sharing with the woman – Kya – and tensing as though protecting her against me.

I had to laugh at that. On this occasion, it was I who was protecting him.

The words had quite a different effect on Kya herself. She jumped, starting in my father's embrace as though she was a newborn animal. Then she leaned against my father, as though trusting him to protect her.

All of this took a grand total of about a few seconds.

I glared at my father. After everything he had said – what little that was – about my mother, _this_ was the end result? Him, so easily discarding and dishonoring the memory of my mother, the woman he had loved, for _this_? Him, not even telling me that someone else had taken his heart?

A part of me started wondering if this was the reason why he had forbade anyone from telling me more about my mother.

"Aurora," my father said. "What – "

"Shouldn't _I_ be asking that question?" I snarled. "What are _you_ doing, Father? What are you _doing_? You swore to me that you'd never forget my mother, and this is the result of that promise? This – This – "

Perhaps he sensed that my words were heading down a foul and unbecoming destination, for he interrupted sharply. "Aurora, _enough_!" he snapped.

I froze. He had never used that tone of me. Ever.

He sighed, releasing Kya to rub at his forehead. "I thought I was doing you . . . a favor . . . giving you protection . . . by not telling you about your mother. But now . . . now I see that I was wrong." He lifted his head, meeting my eyes. "I should never have kept silent about your mother. I see now that it has only come to confusion and anger and distance."

"Ben," Kya murmured at his side. She placed a hand on his arm. "Let me deal with this."

His eyes flickered to her and a half-frown appeared on his face, almost as if he was . . . worried about her.

_He should be_, I thought darkly.

My father murmured something in undertone to her, and she shook her head gently. He sighed again and moved away, consenting.

_It's like she controls him._ My father never backed down that easily, not even to the Council and Master Yoda. Or, perhaps, especially to the Council was more appropriate. . .

But in any case – I had never seen my father back out with so little protest.

Now Kya turned her full attention to me. I met her sapphire eyes without flinching – well, at least at first. But then, as our eyes locked, a weird feeling started building in my gut, as if . . . as if she somehow was detecting all of my secrets simply by glancing into my eyes.

"So . . . Aurora Ranor," Kya said softly, startling me by the use of my full name. "You believe you are protecting your father from my advances, then?"

"Yes," I spat. "Who are you to interfere in my family?"

One eyebrow rose, and her voice grew cool. "And who are you, young Padawan, to interfere in mine?"

"I'm the daughter of my mother and father," I shot back.

To my surprise, she gave no answer. I even thought I glimpsed a flash of something like approval in her gaze as she gazed at me.

Then she nodded. "Spoken like your mother's daughter," she murmured. "She was just as fiery as you are, young one. And, perhaps, just as burdened by secrets withheld from beyond her reach."

I was thrown off guard by her comments, only just remembering then that she had said that she had known my mother. "Wait – you – How do you know this?" I asked, shaken by her words, which seemed to describe me perfectly.

A faint smile twitched her lips. "I knew your mother. Not, perhaps, as well as your father, but . . . well enough."

The anger raged suddenly within me again. "Then why are you seducing my father?" I demanded.

Her eyes narrowed, and I got the sudden feeling that I really did not want this lady as my enemy. "I am a Jedi as well, little one, and I do not _seduce_ anyone." Her voice was soft, but full of a threat. "Much less someone I love."

"You – what?"

Kya sighed and shook her head. "I can see this came about the wrong way. . . And apparently I came off the wrong way as well. . . Apprentice, what do you know about your mother?"

I paused. "Why do you want to know?"

"Humor me."

"That she loved me very much. And that she promised . . . one day . . . to return for me . . . for my father." I looked down. "But she has not, and I'm starting to think that . . ."

"That what?" Kya prompted gently, a soft compassion in her voice that did not quite fit with the image of the seducing woman I had conjured in my mind. It made her sound almost as if she really was concerned about me. As if she could actually . . . love.

"That she may never return," I muttered.

Silence was all I received in answer; an almost shocked silence, actually, as if she was startled beyond words.

I decided to take advantage of her momentary silence.

"But even so," I continued fiercely, raising my head to lock eyes with her again, "even if my mother never returns and I never meet her, that does not mean I can ever forget her. Nor will I allow my father to be . . . to dishonor my mother this way. He loved her more than he loved anyone else or will love anyone else. So if that was your intent, I'm afraid it's time for you to leave."

Kya merely smiled. "It was never my intent to sway your father, child. . . Unless it be from a rash course of action."

My father rolled his eyes. "And you're the one talking?" he asked, amusement and affection in his tone – the same mix that he normally reserved for family, like Master Qui-Gon and Tahl and . . . and me.

"Oh, hush," Kya threw over her shoulder. "I thought I told you to stay out of this."

"You did," he agreed neutrally.

Kya sighed and covered her eyes. "Why, why, _why_ did the Force ever think we would _ever_ get along well?"

My father laughed. "The purpose is to protect you, not to help us get along," he said.

I frowned. "What do you mean, Dad?" I asked, startled. He had never said much about my mom, and I suspected that this statement was about her, only . . . only I sensed he was directing it at _Kya_ of all people. . .

Kya turned her eyes back to me. "I see you still haven't connected the dots yet," she said. "Why don't you tell me why you are Obi-Wan Kenobi's child – and yet carry the last name of Ranor?"

I frowned, confused. "Because my father is well known, and he wishes to protect me."

"But why Ranor? Do you not know that it is the name of a very old and very rich family of Alderaan?"

"It was?"

"I guess not. And you carry it why?"

"It was my mother's name," I said softly. "As I honor her thusly, I honor her now by asking you to leave me and my father alone."

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that," she said calmly. "You see, Aurora, I knew your mother very well. And she asked me to tell you her story so that you will know who she is when you see her that 'one day'."

For a second, I stared.

Then –

"_What?_"


	78. Chapter 75

**_Chapter Seventy-Five_**

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
_Are you sure this is a good idea?_ I asked my lover warily, watching Aurora both with my eyes and my senses in case I needed to step in.

_I was about to ask the same thing of you_, Kya replied, not taking her eyes off our daughter.

I repressed a sigh. _Be careful_, I cautioned.

Kya didn't acknowledge the warning by any visible means; I only felt a vague sense of agreement float through our bond, swift and silent and faint.

In other words, if someone didn't know about our bond, they would not have guessed. We did not make eye contact or shift or cough. We did not lace our words with double meanings, even though we very well could. And we did not give any indication of concern or changing of expression or shifting of our emotions.

This ability to conceal our attachment was very handy. And that was why we were so good at it.

"Do you wish to hear your mother's story, apprentice?" Kya asked softly. "Or do you wish to remain as before – in the dark, ignorant, and waiting?"

Aurora hesitated. On one hand, she _wanted_ – desperately wanted – to know more about her mother, her past, her heritage. On the other, she really did not like Kya and did not like the idea of being indebted to her for this kind of information.

But it was still easy to see which urge would win out.

"Tell me. Please," she added.

Kya nodded and sat down on the bed. "You'd better sit down, then; it's a long story, and even then I only know certain parts. Your father probably knows more in some areas than I, and I fear you must plead with him to reveal them," she finished with a teasing grin in my direction.

I raised an eyebrow as I sat down on my desk chair. _As if she hasn't been for the last, oh, nine, ten, eleven years_, I told Kya.

Kya's mental laugh resonated in the bond. _I guessed as much. . . But Aurora doesn't know that._

_No, she does not. . . How do you plan to tell her?_

_You'll see._

"Now – apprentice. Tell me, what else do you know about your mother? Her name – her position – how she met your father – anything. That way I will know where to start," she explained.

"Well," Aurora said slowly, "I know now that she was one of Alderaan. . . And that she was a Jedi when she met my dad. . . And that she left shortly after I was born. . . But little else. My father intends to keep me in the dark."

"Hmm. What little he knows, anyways," Kya commented.

Aurora flashed her a confused look.

"What, you think your mother told your father everything? No such thing. Your mother was one of the most conservative and silent people alive; never told anyone about her future plans and revealed very little of her past. I think your father would agree."

My father snorted. "That's a grave understatement," he said darkly.

Kya smiled briefly. "So he basically knew no more than you when he first met her, apprentice. . . And I guess _that_ is where I start, shall I?"

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
Aurora nodded hesitantly at my question, as though half-fearing and half-wanting to hear my explanation.

I went ahead anyways.

"Your mother," I began, "was born into a time of peace, such as the one you live in know, but of course peace doesn't last when you're young. By the time she was two or three years old, the first casualty occurred. You would know it as the Battle of Naboo or the Naboo War, in which your father and Master Jinn and Anakin Skywalker played a major part."

"Wasn't that between the Trade Federation and the Naboo?" Aurora interrupted.

"Yes, apprentice. Now, during the beginning of that whole incident, your father and Master Jinn were forced to land on Tatooine to make repairs to the hyperspace generator, which was leaking or something trivial like that – "

"_Trivial_?" Obi-Wan cut in. "If we didn't repair it, we would never have made it back to Coruscant!"

"_Can_ I finish without being interrupted?"

He sighed. _As you wish._

"Thank you. Anyways, shortly after Master Jinn acquired the parts, whilst he and Anakin were returning, he discovered a young Jedi Padawan lying in the sand dunes. She was injured; unconscious; and gravely hurt.

"What I mean by 'hurt' in this case is not physical – I mean emotionally, mentally, physiologically," I explained. "She had just, after all, suffered through a battle in which a block arose in her Master-Padawan bond – and she believed that he had just died shortly before she did, not knowing that the block was merely to protect them both from being discovered as still alive.

"But in any case, she was brought aboard and cared for. And soon she had recovered – well, physically. She still carried the emotional scars, but she did not speak of them."

"A typical habit of your mother," Obi-Wan muttered.

_Would you please _be quiet_, Obi-Wan Kenobi?_ I hissed.

_Sorry._

_No, you aren't._

"When she met with the Jedi Council, she realized something extraordinary – she was not in her home."

"What?"

"I told you that she was only two or three during the Naboo War. Didn't you wonder how she ended up as a Jedi Padawan?" I prodded.

"Yes."

"Well, you see, apprentice . . ."

And therein, I launched into an explanation about the different universes and how they ran on different timelines but set events. I was careful to keep a bland description, not going into too much depth but explaining enough that she would have a basic understanding. I didn't think it was against the rules; she _was_ the daughter of a Walker, after all. One day, she would face the forces as well, for they would target her as well as me, and she had to understand what she was up against.

"So . . . my mom . . . came from a . . . different universe?" Aurora asked slowly.

I sighed. "Yes. That was what enabled her to stop Darth Sidious from taking over the Republic and destroying the Order as he had in her own universe. She already knew who he was, and she knew what steps could be taken to stop him – and his plans. She knew what had to be done, and she was willing to do whatever it took to do that.

"However . . . she did _not_ plan on falling in love as well."

"She fell in love?"

"With your father. Well," I amended, "he fell first, actually, but to all intents and purposes they fell in love. Then, after Sidious was defeated and peace was restored, it was time for your mother to return home. . . I don't say that she wanted to leave – she actually really didn't and yearned to postpone it to the last possible minute – but in the end it was that or die. So she left, and in turn left for your father . . . you. You were her most precious treasure, and she wanted you to live in peace here rather in her own war-torn home. You would grow up in a peaceful place, in a nurturing order, with your father – rather than be hunted and always looking over your shoulder. It was the only solution she had to protect you."

Aurora looked down. "I . . . I think . . . I understand," she said in a hushed tone.

"You should know that she loved you a great deal, and thought of you just as much, as she still does," I said softly.

There was silence for a moment as Aurora absorbed everything. I knew it would take a long time before she came to peace with it all, though.

"Wait," Aurora said suddenly. "You still haven't explained how _you_ know all of this. And if you loved my mom so much, why are you kissing my dad?"

"Oh? You haven't guessed?"

"What?"

"Really, child, do you think I would have told this to an outsider? Only your father knows all of this, and even then not in so much detail."

"What are you saying?" Aurora asked warily.

"Isn't it obvious? I guess not. . . Apprentice, do you know my full name?"

It seemed to dawn on her quite suddenly that she did not. "No. . . How did you get away with that with the Council?"

"Oh, they know who I am. Somewhat. You see, child, my name is Kya. Kya . . . Ranor." I paused. "_I_ am your mother."

~ _Aurora Ranor_ ~  
I stared at her with a sense of the overwhelming and obvious.

Her words rang in my ears: "You see, child, my name is Kya. Kya . . . Ranor. I am your mother."

For a moment, my whole self rebelled against it. She – this – she couldn't be my mother. My mother was noble and young and full of power, a warrior in the full flowering of her years, a Jedi at the peak of her power. My mother was not a burdened, sad, secret woman who carried the air of seeing too much death, holding too many secrets, being separated for too many years. My mother was not . . . this woman.

But then, slowly, the words began to sink in.

First – My father would never have betrayed my mother, not even were he to be seduced.

Second – I remembered how easily my father had moved to protect her, to cherish her, to reassure her, something that was a gift he granted only to those in his closest family.

And third – I could think of no other explanation as to why I felt a strange sort of connection to her . . . and the fact that her Force-signature sang to me in a way no other's except my father's did.

So . . . perhaps she was . . . my . . . mother. . .

"You . . . How?" I finally croaked out. "Why? How? What?"

My mother's eyes glittered with unshed tears, tears that were reflected in her voice. She seemed suddenly fragile and weak and full of sadness that only heightened with each passing setting and rising of the sun. "I am so sorry. . . I know it was inexcusable of me to . . . to . . . to _abandon_ you as I did, but believe me when I say I had no choice. It is no excuse for what I have done, I know, but it is my only hope. . . But even if you never believe me, if you never forgive me, if you never acknowledge me, know that you _are_ my daughter, and I do love you, and there is nothing in the world that means as much to me as you."

"How?" I repeated.

"The Force had a hand in your birth as much as anything. . . But I do not regret it, even though I regret having to leave you. . . I did the best I could, even though that will never cleanse me of my debt."

_She's afraid that I'm going to hate her_, some part of me dimly realized. _She's afraid that I will never forgive her for this._

In a way, I could feel how I could. It would be oh so easy to let my rage and my anger and my confusion flow forth, and to lash out at her for never revealing herself to me, for never being there for me, for never being . . . my mother. It would be easy, beyond easy, to vow to hate her forever more and never take part of her name.

But I would not.

Because, in a way, I understood what she had done and why she had done it. Her story rang all the clearer in my mind now that I understood the reasons for its telling, and I could understand it all.

My mother slid to the floor, kneeling as though I was Master Yoda with her head bowed. "It is no excuse," she repeated softly. "But if I could . . . if you could find it in yourself to believe, to accept, to forgive . . ."

I trembled. A single word slipped past my lips, the word I had dreamt since I was a youngling of being able to speak. . .

"Mom."

Then I ran to her, and threw my arms around her, and held her tightly. Tears ran from my eyes as I buried my head in my mom's shoulder for the first time in my life.

My mother leaned back, folding me into her embrace and kissing my head.

"I'll never leave you again," she vowed quietly. "Never. This I promise you, and I will not break my promise ever again where you are concerned. . . My daughter. . . My beloved child. . . My daughter. . ."

The endearments flowed from her tongue as though easily spoken and given; but each was laced with undercurrents of the strongest affection and devotion that I had ever heard. There was no doubt in my mind – no doubt at all – that she spoke the truth.

It fit. I felt it. From the very depths of my soul, I knew this was right.

She was my mom.

"I've missed you so much, Mom," I whispered brokenly between sobs and tears and hiccups.

A warm hand landed on my back, and looked up through teary eyes to see my father kneeling beside us. There was pure, unadulterated, everlasting love on his face as he looked at us. He drew us into his arms, and I snuggled, content, protected in the embrace of my father and my mother.


	79. Chapter 76

**_Chapter Seventy-Six_**

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
"Where are you taking me?"

The question was, in retrospect, rather stupid. I hadn't been in the Temple for over two decades, but I had been raised in it and knew the maze of twisting corridors and convoluted floor plans like the back of my hand. And I still had the Force; I could have easily reached out and sensed where we were going. Each room of the Temple had a distinct signature and a distinct place, and it wouldn't take too much trouble to find which one he was leading me to.

But for now I restrained my curiosity.

I mean, it wasn't like Obi-Wan would bring me anywhere dangerous.

I hoped.

Obi-Wan laughed warmly, stopping suddenly. His arms snaked around my waist, hugging me to his chest, and he brushed his lips over the top of my head. "Do you really think I'd tell you when I was the one who blindfolded you?" he asked, his voice warm and affectionate.

"No. But it was worth a try," I pointed out.

He laughed again. "Come on; we're wasting time," he said gently.

"What, we're on a schedule now?" I demanded.

"Yes and no."

"Aren't you one to give straight answers."

He chuckled. "Wait a minute and you'll see," he murmured. "Patience, patience, patience."

"If you say that one more time, I'm going to show you what the word patience means to me," I threatened.

He stopped again, just as suddenly as the first time, and turned me abruptly. "Then perhaps it's a good thing that we're here," he said. With a swift, gentle movement, he slipped the blindfold from eyes and tucked it into his belt.

And I looked around in wonder.

The sun, I saw, had just set – or was setting, anyways. And everywhere I looked in the corridor, soft lights were coming on. Not too bright, for there was no need, but nor did the Temple leave its corridors steeped in darkness. But there were no lights coming on here; the only light came from the floor-to-ceiling windows that made up practically an entire ceiling and walls of transparent material.

I leaned down to examine one of the flowers. . . Or, at least I _thought_ it was meant to be a flower. It was tightly closed, so I couldn't really tell.

But the room was still beautiful. It was as breathtaking and grand as the Room of a Thousand Fountains, only obviously it had less fountains. And it seemed simple, and more in tune with nature.

I looked up and turned to Obi-Wan, who was watching me with a pleased and affectionate expression on his face. "What is this place?"

He stepped forward, uncrossing his arms and gesturing to the room. "It's one of the four central gardens; surely you know them? Or, at least, heard of them."

"The Compass Gardens?" I breathed.

He smiled.

The four Compass Gardens were among the most famed gardens in the Temple, even though they were not well known to outsiders. They – along with the Room of a Thousand Fountains – made up the five gardens that corresponded to the five spires of the Jedi Temple itself. The four Compass Gardens were each placed at one of the four directions of the compass – east, west, south, and north, respectively.

The east garden was centered around the earth. There, almost everything – the hills, the bridges, the valleys – were made of real earth. So everything was grass and dirt and . . . earth. It was a beautiful garden that represented the strength of the earth and the beauty of the nature as it once had been on Coruscant.

The west garden featured water. There, cleverly constructed aqueducts and lakes and streams made the garden a literal water wonderland. It was fresh and cool there, and it never failed to delight the more swimming inclined younglings.

The south garden, nicknamed the sun garden, mainly showcased beautiful plants that flowered under the light of the sun. There, each window and pond was specifically designed to flatter and exaggerate the sunlight. Even the flowers, which were brightly colored and blossomed with sweet scents, helped accentuate the sun.

And there was the north garden. The garden of night. The garden the emphasized the night and the beauty of it, from the flowers that only blossomed at night to the lovely silver moon that traced her path across every night.

_This_ garden.

Obi-Wan extended his hand to me. "Come along; I want to show you something."

"Where?"

He turned and pointed towards the center of the room, where a lake enclosed a quaint little island.

"And how are we getting there? Swimming?" I asked, remembering his disdain for water.

He laughed. "No. There's some stepping stones. Now come on."

~ _Obi-Wan Kenobi_ ~  
I brushed aside some of the flowers, looking for the precise blossom I had spotted once a long time ago. . . It had struck me as the perfect flower to give her, but now, of course, I had to find it first. . . And that was a lot easier said than done.

Kya was waiting for me on the small island. It hadn't taken us too long to hop across, thanks to the stepping stones.

Finally, my eyes alighted on the blossom. It hadn't opened yet – no flowers in the night garden would open until the moon rose – but when it did, it would be the most beautiful of all.

Carefully, I plucked the flower out from among its sisters.

Kya straightened when she saw me, a confused frown reaching her eyes. "What – "

"It's for you."

"I guessed as much, but . . ."

Sensing where she was going, I smiled and enfolded her in my arms. "It will only bloom when the moon rises and moonlight falls upon it. . . Surely you know that, my love?"

Kya sighed and leaned against me. "So we wait?"

"Yes."

She curled into my arms, resting her head against me. With her eyes closed and her relaxed, she seemed . . . at peace . . . for once. I had never seen her so content whilst she was awake, not even when we had pledged our love or when we lay beside each other, her in my arms and protected. Although, to be honest, _I_ had also not been so content while awake, knowing she was in danger and knowing that there was little if anything I could do about it.

_I'm content in knowing that I have you and you are with me_, Kya murmured, startling me.

I stroked her hair. _I know. . . But I also know that rarely are you so quiet and at peace, and I intend to make the most of the moment._

_How so?_

I changed the subject. _I think Aurora will accept you as her mother, once the dust settles and she's had more time to think about it and turn everything over in her mind._

Kya shifted, obviously noticing the shift but choosing not to comment. _I hope so_, she said, her voice turning melancholy. _But I do not think that I will ever be able to repay her for what I did to her . . . to you. . . I can't even see how _you_ forgave me sometimes. . ._

Alarmed, I opened my eyes and shook her gently. _Kya, my love. . . How could you ever say that? You are everything, absolutely _everything_, to me. Why would I punish you for something you had no control over?_

_I had control_, she protested.

_Control? It was that or _die_, Kya!_ I softened my voice. _Kya, this was no fault of yours, and I beg you not to linger upon it. . . I will not blame you, and anyone who does . . . _ I trailed off, feeling anger creep into my veins. No one should ever _dare_ accuse my Kya of deliberating doing such things. No one.

Kya smiled slightly. _Well . . . no one can say you don't protect me_, she said softly.

I pressed my lips into her hair. _I will never stop_, I told her.

_I know._

The Force began to hum; a soft almost insistent hum that alerted me that the moon was rising. All around me, things began to start. Flowers prepared to blossom and release all of their beauty, for one. Everyone waited for the moon.

As for me, I released Kya and moved to stand in front of her.

She started, staring at me. "Obi-Wan, what – " she began, moving to clamber to her feet as well.

I stopped her and knelt down, taking her hands in mine.

Kya started, still confused.

When the humming reached a climax that sent a whirling spin of energy into me, I took a deep breath and said, "Kya Ranor, I love you and I always will. So . . . Will you marry me?"

~ _Kya Ranor_ ~  
Obi-Wan suddenly moved to kneel in front of me, confusing me. What was he doing? Did he want me to stand or something? What was going on?

Around me, I sensed a sort of . . . preparation, building, suspense in the Force as if . . . as if everything in this room was waiting for _something_, something big, something huge, something momentous. . .

But what?

And then Obi-Wan took a deep breath and said, "Kya Ranor, I love you and I always will. So . . . Will you marry me?"

Everything seemed to suddenly stand still.

I froze.

He couldn't have just asked me that. He couldn't have possibly. . . He couldn't have. . .

And then it hit – he was proposing to me. He wanted to _marry_ me and accept me as his wife and make our relationship known. He . . . loved me enough . . . to make it public.

I threw my arms around his neck. "Yes!"

Laughing, we tumbled down the small hill, as my momentum threw him off balance. When we landed, he reached up and brushed my hair back lovingly. I leaned down and kissed him, not caring that we were lying on the grass where all the world could see. . .

And then the moon's faint light crept over the horizon . . .

At once, the room exploded.

All around me, flowers burst into bloom. Sweet scents saturated the room, enough to make my head spin with the combined pleasure of our kiss and the love flooding our bond. Soft lights seemed to dance around us, wafted this way and that by the gentle breeze around us. . .

I looked around and noticed that on this hill, the flowers were releasing soft lights that blossomed and danced like fireflies, casting a soft glow around us.

Obi-Wan laughed at my look of surprise. Then he stroked the fingers of the hand he was holding and said, "Let the moon shine upon the flower. . . If you haven't crushed it yet," he added teasingly.

I opened my palm and raised it so that the moonlight fell upon it.

Immediately, the tightly-coiled blossom swelled and soft dark blue petals began to open. I watched, amazed, as the flower bloomed. On the outside were gorgeous dark blue petals; in the middle, soft downy white rings of petals; and in the center, shimmering gold petals that sparkled and glowed faintly in the moon light. And there was something in the very middle of that soft bed of gold. . .

I pulled out a ring. It was polished and simple, yet it shone under the moon. Delicate, beautiful drawings were inscribed in the gold band. And in the middle, a small clear gem was set.

I looked at Obi-Wan, who was smiling.

"Oh, Obi-Wan. . . You had this made for me?" I breathed.

He smiled even wider. He took the flower from my hand, and the ring. Gently, he laced the flower into my hair, so that it seemed I wore a tiara of flowers and this was the crowning jewel. Then he knelt again and slipped the ring of my finger.

"I love you, Kya," he whispered, taking me in his arms and pressing his lips to my forehead.

"As I you," I murmured back.

Then I tilted my head back, and as his lips slid to meet mine, I kissed him back with all the love I had for him.

~ _?_ ~

I watched in frustration as Ranor and Kenobi kissed, at peace and in love. But there was nothing I could do; by all the laws, I could not touch her. Not now. And in any case, with her acknowledged mate beside her, there was nothing I could do that he would not be able to counter. By all of our laws, he had the right and the responsibility to interfere, and I could not match the combined power of a mate and a Walker, even though they were new and barely trained.

But the day would come soon.

The day of my revenge.

For Ranor had struck against me without even knowing, without even _thinking_ about her actions.

That was unforgivable.

My plans were already laid in place, and Ranor was already beginning to fall deeper and deeper into them. And then, when I executed the final plan. . . Then, I too would be at peace.

I did not know _when_ or _where_ my plan would be triggered. I only knew that it would one day.

One day, she would taste the same pain as I. One day, she would live with the agony of what she had done. One day, she would regret the day she ever realized she was a Walker.

One day.

And on that day, my beloved, my love, my Drakale . . . would be revenged.

* * *

Okay, almost done with Another Past. . . In a week, I'll have the epilogue posted – assuming it's done by then, of course.


	80. Epilogue

My original idea for the Epilogue of Another Past was to do as I have done for the Prologue and Interlude; that is, to do more diary entries. But then I realized that I wanted to focus and close on the wedding – but the wedding itself, with Kya telling it as she remembered, was not exactly going to be the best format. So instead, I have written the Epilogue in present tense, as though she is recording everything exactly as it happens rather than recalling it. I hope that isn't too confusing for anyone.

* * *

**_Epilogue_**

I stare into the mirror, not moving, not blinking, barely breathing. On one hand, I'm surprised that it actually happened to me. On the other, I'm too mortified to care.

I'm having second thoughts. I'm hesitating. I'm . . . having pre-wedding jitters.

It's not that I doubt Tahl and Siri and Padmé – they are the ones we entrusted with planning the wedding. For the past two or so weeks, they have run around like reeks with their heads cut off, as my old Master used to say. They've done the arrangements and the ordering and the planning – everything that they decided was absolutely _needed_ for a wedding. I've let them do it. I trust them, and although I would have preferred a simple wedding, at least they are doing it and not me.

It's not that I doubt Aurora either. She seems to have resigned herself to me being her mother, at the least. Well, resigned is putting it lightly. We've already become comrades in a few ways, like when she and Obi-Wan got into an argument over breakfast and I sided with her. Obi-Wan was not amused, but it's his loss and his only; my daughter is my greatest treasure and no one will convince me otherwise.

And I do not doubt Obi-Wan. Even now, I can feel the depth of his devotion and protection and love for me. He has no doubts or hesitations. He wants me to be his wife, and he is not shy about saying so. He wants the whole universe to know that we are in love, and he cares not who disapproves. Not that it really matters; most of our friends approve and will attend, and even some of the Masters of the Council are coming.

Actually, most of my doubt comes from . . . me.

I mean, yes, I was born in peace and I have some . . . vague . . . memories of it, but . . . The majority of my life, I have lived fighting. I have seen, experienced, _lived_ war. It's practically the only life I know.

I have been able to sort of be okay for these past days because I'm still adjusting. But I have my doubts.

Can I really . . . _live_ this way? I don't remember peace. I don't remember how I lived during it – if I even did, to begin with. I don't know what to do.

And can I even be a good wife to Obi-Wan and a good mother to Aurora? I haven't seen Obi-Wan for over twenty years in my time, and Aurora is a teenager who's never had a real mother before. She's used to having only her father; can she get used to a mom?

So I sit here and wonder and . . . worry.

It's a new feeling for me. War doesn't leave time for you to worry. You learn, you plan, you react. And it either fails or succeeds. There's no time to fret over whether it'll work or not. You just do it and hope that it turns out for the best. Sometimes, you don't even hope. You can't permit yourself that luxury. You've just got to harden your heart, close you mind, and keep going.

I'm used to that. Practically all my life I've lived with that. Yeah, I spent a great deal of my younger years under the protection of a Master, but still. . . A Master can't protect you from everything.

But Jedi are supposed to be adaptable to whatever new situation pops up.

And therein lies the problem.

I don't think I _can_ adapt this time.

I can handle a last minute change in the attack plan. I can deal with an ugly surprise on the battlefield. I can even cope with a trap and torture.

The problem is that I've gotten so used to it that I don't think I can stop. I'm so used to looking over my shoulder, to running away, to seeing people die that I think I'm becoming almost . . . numb . . . to it.

Even now, sometimes sounds still startle me. Even Obi-Wan's presence by my side isn't enough to keep me from being startled awake in the night.

But in any case, I think it's too late. The ring is gone from my finger – in preparation for Obi-Wan sliding it on during the ceremony – but I said yes. I told him I would. And I'm sitting here in a wedding gown with my hair done up all fancy and a veil waiting nearby and a gorgeous necklace on the table in front of me.

It was a present from Aurora. She slipped it to me not two hours ago, sneaking past Obi-Wan and the others.

It's a beautiful necklace. It's almost an exact replica of the blossom Obi-Wan concealed the ring in, only in gems. It's made of a light yet strong silver chain with the charm as an open blossom that has gems of sparkling dark blue on the outside ring, shining clear white in the middle ring, and shimmering gold in the center. And just like the real blossom, it hums with the Force, like Obi-Wan's river stone.

I can't thank her enough for it. I can guess how much trouble she went through to get this.

Then Tahl, Siri, and Padmé enter, all dressed up in their own simple yet elegant dresses and faces lit up and eyes glittering with excitement.

I sigh. Oh dear. Here comes the busy, run-a-round part.

Siri gathers my hair back as Tahl arranges the veil, attaching the tiara of flowers along the braided crown of dark hair on my head. The veil is a soft silver sheet that ripples down the back of my gown, matching the silver of my gown. Padmé clasps the necklace around my neck and hugs me gently.

I thank them all for everything they have done for me and Obi-Wan and Aurora. It's no small feat.

But they all brush it off and escort me out quickly.

I know it's because they want to see Obi-Wan's face when he sees me. Padmé convinced Anakin to drag him out three mornings ago, before we'd even eaten breakfast. All I know about him is the running reports from Luke and Leia.

Anakin's children are adorable at two and half years old. Already I can see the similarities they share with the Luke and Leia I remember from my own universe, especially in appearance. But in other ways they are different – very different. After all, they have both of their parents, they are happy, and they are in training to become Jedi. And they are cherished and adored by almost everyone they meet, for who could resist them? And especially not Jedi, who value and cherish the young and the old most of all.

Both children are already dressed, although I don't think Luke likes his suit that much. . . Leia loves her gown and little crown of flowers, though.

Padmé hands Leia the basket of rose petals – a soft mix of red and white and pink – and shoos her son out. Anakin will give Luke the ring and the pillow so that he can be a proper ring-bearer. Then Padmé fusses over her daughter lovingly, smoothing her dress and re-arranging her crown of blossoms.

I can see Leia loves the attention, and as she passes me I smile at her.

Leia goes out first, scattering the petals wherever she walks and earning adoring laughter and smiles from the audience.

Luke follows close beyond, his young face serious; I gather Anakin gave him a bit of a lecture beforehand.

Then Aurora appears silently by my side, dressed similarly to me, and hands me a simple bouquet of blossoms. The blossoms haven't opened yet, as obviously the moon hasn't yet risen, but they will soon, for the sun is setting even now.

It was a last minute decision to hold the wedding as the sun set and the moon rose. I guess it just seemed fitting, as Obi-Wan – as a Jedi – is considered like a son of the sun to the Force while I – as a Walker – am considered like a daughter of the moon to the Force. The sun burns brightly and the moon glows quietly, but both do their best to eradicate the dark and cast light wherever they go.

A hush falls over the audience when I enter though.

I know why. Jedi rarely step out of the standard uniform in public, or even in private, unless we're on a mission. And now here I come, obviously _not_ wearing that standard uniform.

Obi-Wan is, though, and as he turns slightly I can see his eyes go wide.

I walk down the aisle alone, with my train flowing over the petals Leia scattered. The sweet scent of flowers and spring and just . . . life are everywhere.

Siri objected strongly to me doing this – walking down the aisle alone. Even Padmé didn't agree with it.

But this is my wedding, and my choice. After all, who _can_ walk me down the aisle? My parents are dead, and I have no siblings or any other relations. There is no one. And while many Jedi would gladly do the deed, I feel that this is something I have to do alone.

Walkers, after all, have always stood alone no matter where they walked.

When I reach Obi-Wan's side, I take his hand, smiling at the surprise on his face. Immediately, his eyes soften and affection floods his expression as the surprise dissipates. He bows lightly to me – which was so _not_ in the plan at all – and kisses my hand gently before turning to lead me forward yet again.

I roll my eyes at him and hand my bouquet to Aurora, pausing to clasp hands with her. She smiles beautifully, and I can see that she is at peace with me being her mother – something I am grateful for.

The exchange of vows passes in a blur. I am barely aware of repeating the vows, swearing to care for, devote, and love Obi-Wan until the day we both join the Force. The vows don't really mean much to me, though; as we are mates, I would have done so anyways. But I say them anyways, knowing that they are a public declaration and legal binding between us.

Obi-Wan speaks his vows, and all I am aware of then is the warm tone of his voice and the gentle hold he has on my hand, as if he will never let go. With each passing word, the love and affection and caring he has for me grows in the Force. It is a gift from him to me, greater than any he has ever given before.

Finally he gestures to Luke, who steps forward promptly. Then he moves my hand – gently, as if afraid he might hurt me – and slides the cool gold band onto my finger. It sparkles faintly in the combined light of gold and silver.

I stare at it. It seems even more beautiful now than before.

Then suddenly Obi-Wan is pulling me to face him and sliding his arms around my waist. His blue-green eyes sparkle as he brushes a hand through my hair and tilts his head down.

I close my eyes and taste . . . love.

There is cheering and congratulations and laughing in the background when we finally separate, and I feel tears wet my eyes.

This is my home now. This is my family now. And Obi-Wan . . . he is my husband now.

Obi-Wan kisses my head before suddenly slipping back and putting his hand over my mouth. I start, surprised at not having sensed his intentions beforehand as I usually can. But his mind is shielded now and his movements are stealthy as he drags the both of us away from the crowd.

He finally stops in the same corridor I entered in.

Breathless, I demand to know what he's doing. We're supposed to be hostess and host, not sneaking away. . .

He grins mischievously, pinning my hands to the wall and preventing me from wriggling away and returning to the crowd. He replies simply that he's sure the others can keep them occupied until they notice we are gone.

I scowl at him. I'm not used to shedding responsibility on to the shoulders of another whilst I handle it.

But he doesn't let my hands go and even goes so far as to draw upon the Force for strength so I can't push him away as I want to.

I hiss at him to let me go.

He raises an eyebrow and questions why I can't tell why he's done this.

I scowl again and shove at him, trying to get away. But with the Force his strength is too great, and I don't really want to hurt him to get away. We just got married, after all, and it was mar the celebrations if I drew upon my full strength in the Force to push him away. I could, but I also might hurt him.

And besides, to hurt him would hurt me as well.

Obi-Wan kisses my forehead, lingering before kissing me on my lips.

A muffled gasp escapes me and my eyes roll back as he drops his shield – and suddenly I can sense _exactly_ why he pulled us away.

He wants me so badly that he can barely keep his control.

I guess I should have expected it. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, and due to this wedding on top of my extended absence, we have only slept together but once. As my mate, that hurts him.

I play with the idea of making him wait. He can; while his control is on the verge of snapping, it's only really because he's just so close. But with the Force and with some scolding, he could easily wait until tonight. Well, perhaps not easily, but he can do it. I know he can.

Of course, my planning is somewhat abstract and wandering.

I am Obi-Wan's soulmate as much as he is mine, and his desire provokes my own. My own control is starting to slip, and I know it's next to a miracle I can still think.

He doesn't push me, although he easily could. I'm not really in a position to resist him; not right now.

But he doesn't. He merely waits, dragging out the wait with gentle kisses and murmurs.

He loves me too much to push things. He wants it to be of my own choice, not simply because he wants it. For him, if he took me now – even though he can sense how his desire is being returned unconsciously in the back of my mind – it would be akin to violation and a breaking of his vow to protect and care for me.

I tease him, calling him too much of a gentleman for his own good.

He retaliates by moving closer to me, letting his physical attraction to me add to his mental desire. Combined, they almost overwhelm me.

It's almost amazing that he loves me and desires me _that much_.

I mean, I'm just a Jedi Padawan who's seen too much and is a tad too morbid for her own good. I have powers but little formal training and even less control. I'm dangerous to everyone around me, even him and especially to myself.

All in all, not exactly the perfect soulmate.

But Obi-Wan disagrees; I can sense it. I hear it moments later, as he speaks quietly, lovingly in my ear.

He hates it when my thoughts turn down this road.

It's almost enough to distract him from his wanting me . . . almost.

His eyes are soft and gentle, a sharp contrast to the burning desire in his mind, as he glances at me. I know he's waiting for me to make the first move, to give him my consent before he does anything.

But finally my own control snaps. I just can't wait any longer. Between his desire and my own, I just _can't wait_.

I surge forward and kiss him hard, pressing my whole body against his and hearing his muffled groan of relief. He was ready to snap too, only now at least I've given him permission to.

He kisses me gently, slipping his arms around me and lifting me off of my feet.

There are no words spoken between us when he sets me down and closes the door with the Force. There is no need to. Our understanding of each other goes beyond actions or words or even thoughts. Our souls are bonded on the most basic and therefore the powerful level. We understand each other's very _being_ – and therefore talking is a rather poor substitute.

Carefully, he helps me shed the long dress, the veil, the crown of flowers. His fingers brush lightly and even pause over my necklace, but he doesn't comment. He combs his fingers through my hair, pulling it from the braided crown so that it falls in a soft waterfall down my back, as he remembers.

In return, I help him slip out of his uniform, admiring how he has changed and feeling my desire for him increase all the more.

Then he is kissing me, caressing me, loving me and I know that this place is a heaven that defies any description.

When I wake the next morning, I wake in the protective circle of Obi-Wan's embrace. He is still sleeping, his expression tender and loving, and I know that he fell asleep watching me as I drifted off.

I smile and snuggle closer to him. The morning air is chilly, and I seek refuge in the warmth of his embrace.

The place is silent. I glance around and see that our discarded clothes still lie on the floor, messy and crumpled. They'll have to be cleaned and everything, but I am relieved in the solid evidence that no one disturbed our rest.

I am also grateful that they gave us this time – gave me this time to be alone with Obi-Wan and he to be alone with me. It is so rare when we are needed on missions to have alone time.

The only word that describes me right now is content.

My doubts are gone, thrown to the winds and scattered by the passion of our love. They trouble me no more, nor will they ever again.

Because last night Obi-Wan showed me that no matter my flaws, he loves me and will always love me. It is impossible for him to even begin to consider the possibility that there is someone else out there that might ever even begin to take my place in his heart.

I am his soulmate, and he will take no other.

Death is no barrier to us. Due to the complexity and strength of our bond, it is very likely that if one of us dies, the other soon will follow. That is a bit of a relief. I do not want to live without him and he does not wish to live without me. We have struggled to survive without each other for a bit, but it was a pain and we do not wish to test it again.

Obi-Wan shifts, murmuring something unintelligible, and I lean against him, smiling. It feels nice to be loved and protected, a feeling that I wouldn't trade for anything in the world. His arms, snug around my body, lend me an air of security. His expression, soft and tender, gives me the warm feeling of affection. And the bond between us, humming with energy and saturated with love, reminds me of the power of his love for me.

To my surprise, I do feel a little different now. I hadn't expected to. Being a wife in name or informally meant so little to me.

But now I realize that to Obi-Wan it always meant more.

To him, it was his way of publicly sealing the bond between us. His proposing to me was his unspoken way of telling me that the old flame between us is still burning and that he still loves me. His following the vows to care for me and protect me and love me were his unspoken way of telling me that he would never stop caring or protecting or loving me. And his kissing me . . . in public . . . in full view of everyone . . . deliberately . . . is his unspoken way of telling me that he no longer cares who approves or disapproves – he loves me and he will not be afraid to show it.

I love him all the more for it.

All my life, I have craved caring, protection, affection. They were the things most absent in war, in fighting, in death. I had never known I craved it until Obi-Wan gave it to me.

And now he has made it a public statement, a vow, a promise.

Obi-Wan's eyes open, and he smiles lovingly at me. His arms tighten around me as he pulls me closer. Hi hand brushes through my hair and caresses my cheek as his eyes sparkle with the undying and powerful love he has for me.

If I had doubts, they are mainly gone now. I have to live in the present. I can't look forward or backwards anymore. I have to _live_.

And I intend to.

So I raise my head again, slip my arms around Obi-Wan's neck, and kiss him as his wife, his lover . . . his Kya Kenobi.

* * *

**_The End_**

And that's the end of Another Past. Thanks for staying with me throughout this story, and thanks to everyone who reviewed.

Now here comes my question – What do you think: Is a fitting end to the story or should I write a sequel explaining how Kya fulfills her own prophecy of restoring the ability to choose one's own destiny to all the universes, something I hinted at in Chapter 54?


	81. Sneak Peek at Another Future

Due to the urgings of the plot bunnies from my muse (and my best friend's urging) I have decided to continue with my original idea. Another Past, therefore, is now the first story in the "Another Universe" trilogy I am writing.

I am busily typing away at my story now, and I hope to get it up and running very soon; hopefully, by the time school starts in September . . . er, make that late August. But anyways – if I do not make that deadline, then it shall definitely be up come Christmas/New Year break.

But to make up for the long wait between the conclusion of Another Past and my decision, here's a little snapshot of what the sequel, Another Future, will be like. Be warned – this trailer may change as time goes by and I get a better idea of how Another Future will turn out.

So until then – bye!

~ Ayra ~

* * *

**_Another Future_**

_Summary:_ Kya has settled into her new life, even running a new pilot program with her husband. But then something goes terribly wrong and they crash – on Hoth. She must change destiny in the future this time – but this time, it's not just her life at risk. . . Can they persuade Anakin to bring balance to the Force? Or will their interference merely cause the Force to slide ever deeper into darkness, beyond even the aid of a Walker?

_Rating:_ T due to the complexity of the storyline and some of the more suggestive parts of the story

_Genre:_ angst (emotional & some physical) ; romance ; hurt/comfort ; friendship ; mystery

_Canon Character(s):_ Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (40); Darth Sidious/Emperor Palpatine ; Luke Skywalker (22) ; Leia Organa (22) ; Han Solo ; Darth Vader/Anakin Skywalker

_OC Character(s):_ Knight Kya Kenobi ; Lady Elizabeth

_Set During:_ ESB

_Author's Note:_ Another Future will take place about two years after the conclusion of events in Another Past.

* * *

**_Trailer_**

A big black screen with the words – _Parallel universes exist everywhere, bound by the Force and with identical destinies and faces. Each will follow the same tragic storyline, with love and hate, trust and betrayal, life and death._

_But not all are bound to that fate._

Kya Kenobi appears, long brown hair down, sapphire eyes sparkling. With her stands her husband, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and their daughter, Aurora Ranor.

_Kya Ranor-Kenobi – wife, mother, Jedi . . . and Walker. One bound to a destiny to take a journey that could change the destiny of all worlds . . . or destroy them._

_A journey already begun._

The scene fades off the screen.

_And a journey that begins yet again._

**Flash.**

Kya brushes the lever with her hand and the Force before returning her attention to another panel. But the starlines continue. With a frown, she pushes it again – it moves, but nothing happens.

"Obi-Wan?"

"What?"

"Aren't we supposed to be coming out of hyperspace about now?"

He swivels around and yanks on the lever as well. It moves all the down, but the starlines continue – something has clearly gone terribly wrong.

"I get no readings," she says. "There's nothing wrong, except – "

The entire ship shakes suddenly, and the Force surges as they come out of hyperspace.

Right on a collision course.

**Flash.**

"Ben Kenobi is dead," declares a young man with pale blue eyes.

"No, he isn't," Kya objects.

"You must be thinking of my brother," explains Obi-Wan. "Obi-Wan Kenobi is dead – Darth Vader killed him, yes? He is – _was_ my brother. _I_ am Ben Kenobi."

**Flash.**

Cold fills Kya's being and she stumbles with a gasp. Obi-Wan catches her instantly.

"What's wrong?" he demands.

"Vader. He's here. And he's looking for us."

**Flash.**

"With all due respect, Master Yoda, I disagree," Obi-Wan says calmly. "My affection for Kya does not blind me to my duty – if anything, it makes me all more aware of it."

The old Master snorts. "Against the Jedi Code, love is."

"Only selfish, uncontrollable, obsessive love," Obi-Wan corrects. "Not – "

He gasps and falls to his knees. At the same time, Luke screams and topples as pain ripples through the Force.

**Flash.**

Vader slashes at Luke and bats away his blade. Moments later, his own lightsaber is on a fatal course with one end trajectory – Luke's arm.

Suddenly, Vader's lightsaber jerks away and back – and is caught by Obi-Wan.

With a roar, the Sith whirls on him and makes a fist. Obi-Wan chokes, falling to his knees and dropping both lightsabers.

**Flash.**

Slowly, oh-so-slowly, Vader opens his light blue eyes, free at last of the confining, monstrous black suit. He takes a breath, his first on his own in over twenty years. And then his eyes widen in disbelief as he scans the room.

"I killed you! You're dead!"

He heaves himself at Obi-Wan – and then the Force surges with the power of that surpasses even his own.

He freezes, although not of his own will.

Kya slips in between them, her hands outstretched. "Sit down, my brother, and listen before you judge," she orders.

**Flash.**

"The security of the Death Star is impenetrable," Admiral Ackbar protests.

"Nor can we afford to lose our best," General Madine adds, his eyes flitting pointedly over the group.

Kya sighs. "We have no choice – this may well be our only shot at taking out the Emperor. And no security is flawless."

Mon Mothma eyes her. "What do you propose, then?"

**Flash.**

The Emperor rises slowly. "So . . . you chose this route, Walker. The White Lady predicted you would – and now you and your friends will suffer the consequences."

His hands flash out, and the Force tilts, sliding into pain and darkness and blinding mist.

**Flash.**

"_Anakin, save me!_"

The voice is a mere echo, a whisper from a shade of the long-dead Padmé Amidala.

Anakin hesitates.

"The White Lady can return her to you," the Emperor urges. "Just give her your pledge – and your strength."

"Padmé . . ." Anakin whispers, reaching for her.

With each centimeter his fingers travel, his eyes widen – and begin to turn lighter and lighter until they are almost completely white, even the pupils. The air shimmers about him, and shadowy grey mist curls about him, encasing his legs and torso and arms, whispering of the power he deserves.

Chanting is heard, softer but gaining in strength. And over it comes awful, delighted laughter.

**Flash.**

"I have to do it."

"No! I can't kill Sidious; I'm just a Walker. Only Anakin can. If you kill him – "

"I have no choice! He's killing you!"

"Obi-Wan, no!"

Kya grabs for him, but it is too late – Obi-Wan activates his lightsaber and throws it with deadly aim straight at Anakin Skywalker.

Words – _Kya Kenobi is a Walker, but even now only an apprentice. Can she face the next challenge and return alive? Or perhaps the better question is this: Can Obi-Wan Kenobi, her husband and mate, resist the call of an enemy even greater than the Sith, a call that will destroy not only him but all hope for the last of the Walkers?_


End file.
